It observed from the shadows of the woods. Those things became wary after the first attacks. Their stench was filled with fear and worry. Their meager flesh shivered, their bones rattling reached its ears. Letting out a silent growl, it stalked between the wild growth, making note of each and every single toy the primates created. Traps, walls, anything to make their feeble minds feel safer from it, their predator. It let out a snort, enjoying the way those primates jumped. Even if their smell was different in some ways, a few of them mimicking the smell of other beasts like it used to be, their disgusting presence tainted by their humanity was clear enough. Even if this world was strange, even if this was far different to the city of glass and murder or the wide green plains, they were the same kind as those hunters it swore to exterminate.
So what if they had tails? More ears than usual? Sharp teeth like itself? They were all targets of its hatred. So hidden in the shallow light of this strange, massive cave, it prepared itself. It listened to their rapid heart beats. It listened to the noises their mouths made as they breathed out fear. Its fur stood up, trying to sense any sort of irregularity. It waited. Patiently. It was agonizing. To allow their existence to continue for even a second longer. But it waited for the moment their feet shifted. When relief radiated from their smell. When one closed their eyes, blinking, it made its move.
Those primates were strong. Fast. Some even faster and stronger. But they were nothing compared to those primates in that large city. Nothing compared to the one that smelled of burned flesh or the one of tainted light. They didn't even realize one of them was taken away. But it ignored the ensuing stammering and screams. The panic that roused the small town, as they brandished steel and fire, far too late as they desperately searched for clues. No, it focused on snuffing the light of its prey it held in its sharp teeth. Its current existence didn't exactly allow for joy or excitement. But there was a light feeling in its heart as it chewed the primate's throat, a hint of delight as it tore up the flesh and tasted the blood. The iron liquid as its ears picked up the dying whimpers of its victim. Then, suddenly, the world froze. The entity had no idea what was happening. It couldn't move. As if an invisible force kept hold of it. All it could do was taste that iron blood, that disgusting taste seeping on her tongue.
... Her? Why did she think of herself as her? Wasn't she... ? Suddenly she was grabbed by something. Pulled by her shoulder, she was dragged away, the world around her crumbling away to darkness. Falling on her knees she looked at her hands, tiny as a child. Right. She wasn't a monster. She was a human, right? And her name was... She held her head as she swayed, dizzily. Why couldn't she remember her name? It was at the tip of her tongue. Her identity, to turn her ghost like white shape into her true form. But it just wouldn't come. Before she could despair, she heard the noise. Like distorted, muffled words that were spoken underwater. She turned around, seeing the phantom. She backed away, in fear. A part of her realized it was that phantom, who seemed to wear a cloak of some sort, that dragged her out of the beast. Its mouth moved, words coming out, but she couldn't recognize them at all.
"I... I don't understand... " The child muttered, her voice echoing in the void. But then the entity leaned forward, with a wide smirk, as if filled with glee before yellow eyes looked right down at her as lightning and blue flames surrounded the ghost.
"Proto Avenger. "
Aiz' eyes snapped wide open as she practically flung herself out of her bed. She winced at the light that sneaked past the curtains of the windows, rubbing her eyes. Throwing the blanket off her, she stumbled out of her bed, trying to be as quiet as possible as she left the room with her weapon in tow. She covered her mouth, her skin pale and sickly as she tasted the remnants of her dreams. It was like her mouth was drowning in blood while she was asleep and its aftertaste was marked in her very tongue. Minutes later she stepped back from the well, wiping her mouth. Having rinsed her mouth, her heavy breathing started to calm down. Yet she couldn't help but have a disgusted look on her face. That taste of iron... even if it was a dream, it felt too real. As if she was actually in the body of whatever was terrorizing the people. She shuddered at the cool wind brushing against her body and she leaned back on a bench, frowning. That place was Rivira. Was it an omen? She heard of some people sometimes dreaming of the future. Deja-vu she thought it was called. And that phantom... who was that? And why did it call her like that? The same title Hans used to describe her.
"Aiz? Are you alright?"
Her eyes snapped open and she reached for her sword. She blinked when she saw Tiona stare at her with worry before letting out an awkward cough, letting go of Desperate's handle.
"Y-yes." The Sword Princess took a deep breath before shaking her head. "Just had a... weird dream."
Tiona hummed thoughtfully, waiting for a moment for Aiz to elaborate. She remained silent however, looking away as she didn't want to share the details. It would make her sound insane after all. In the end the amazon shrugged before patting her shoulder.
"Must've been really weird if you look like that." A wide grin appeared on her face as she pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. "C'mon, some good breakfast will do you some good!" She paused before pointing at her outfit. "Though you might wanna change clothes."
Aiz blushed for a moment after looking down at herself. She was still in her sleep wear. Coughing she stood up, having to endure Tiona's teasing for a while as they went back to their rooms. Minutes later she was in her usual free time outfit, sitting down in the canteen of the mansion with her food. Silently she chewed on it while the amazon next to her practically inhaled her many plates. Yet Aiz didn't share that hunter, instead frowning a bit as she looked up. Even from the mansion she could sense the... excitement in the city. The War Game preparations were going at full force, with the guild having their hands full dealing with that and the aftermath of the Red Light District Incident. People were celebrating as if the fight was already over, bets being made already and the streets filled with gossip. All that did was increase her worry for the Astraea and Hestia Familia. It had been a week since they left for their training. She knew it was not their place. Interference by outside Familia was forbidden or it'd invite other Familia to interfere and then Orario would fall into chaos. That Astraea was openly supporting Hestia like that was already raising eyebrows in terms of "fairness" but Eris was weirdly accepting of it. Which only cast more suspicion on that goddess. It meant she had aces in the hole to deal with whatever growth Bell and the others might have.
"Hey girls." Aiz looked up, shaken out of her thoughts as she spotted Tione smiling at them. Lefiya was right behind her, waving enthusiastically from behind Tione. Then the amazon raised an eyebrow after taking a closer look at Aiz. "Rough night?"
"Aiz had a bad dream!" Tiona replied for her, shoving the plates away with a satisfied breath. Her twin sister nodded slowly before her expression turned more sympathetic.
"Knossos?"
Lefiya let out a gasp while Aiz froze up, the memories flowing back to the surface. A place of defeat. They managed to leave alive, but they were beaten quite soundly. Especially Aiz by Revis. She grit her teeth. Ever since then, it felt like they were all stagnating. No clue of another key to use, no hints of movements from Valletta or anyone else. Their best leads were Ishtar and Eris, but the former was long gone and the latter was openly picking a fight with Hestia Familia, so they were most likely a dead end as well. Still, as the elf began to fuss over her, Aiz shook her head.
"No, it's not that.." She bit her lip. Then she sighed, deciding to share at least some details as she grabbed her arm, looking away uncomfortably. "I... was a monster. Eating people."
Her friends winced at the words, grimacing as they shared a look.
"Yikes."
"N-No worries! We all have those dreams!" Lefiya followed up on Tione's comment with a strained smile as she raised her fist. "I once dreamed I was attacked by my homework!"
The three girls silently stared at the elf, who slowly shrunk down on herself. Tiona patted her back while she giggled a bit.
"Seriously, what are they teaching at those elf schools?"
They shared a small giggle, though Aiz was concerned by the empty look Lefiya had. Suddenly Tione perked up, her smile widening as she turned to the entrance of the hall. They all followed her gaze and spotted their captain walking in. He looked around for a second before spotting them. For some reason he had a serious look on his face as he gestured at their table.
"Aiz, Tiona, can you come to my office? It's important."
The four shared a confused look. Usually they were always called together. Especially the twins. To be split up like that was unusual to say the least. Shrugging they heeded the call and made their way to the office after getting rid of their dishes. Soon enough they knocked on the door and entered. The sight that followed surprised Aiz. After all, she didn't expect guests this early in the day. Lord Hermes tipped his hat towards them while Asfi nodded in acknowledgment, adjusting her glasses. Other than them, Gareth stood next to Finn. The last person surprised her and Tiona the most, the latter pointing at him.
"Bete? You too?"
"Oi, the fuck you implyin'?" The beast man asked, scoffing in annoyance. Finn raised his hand, giving them a pointed look.
"Cool it." He gestured at the god in the room. "Lord Hermes, it's your stage."
The deity in question shrugged before twirling his hand at them.
"Well, there's not much to say. The Guild requested my little Familia to take a look at Rivira since Ganesha is taking over for Astraea to deal with the Red Light District." His casual air disappeared as he frowned. "This morning Rivira received a travel ban because something down there is killing adventurers left and right."
The room grew tense. Tiona frowned, Bete's hands formed into fists and Finn leaned forward even more with Gareth. Aiz covered her mouth, the taste of iron returning, her eyes slightly wide.
"An irregular?" Tiona asked, raising an eyebrow. Hermes nodded with a sigh.
"That's the theory, yes."
"So why come to us?" Gareth asked, scratching his beard. "Not saying I don't want a good scrap."
Asfi smacked her lips before gulping, sweat forming on her skin.
"Because a level four was killed as well. With the same speed as other victims if the rumors are true." She gave them a pointed, dry look. "I'm confident in our abilities but I wouldn't approach that kind of threat without backup. Especially with Filvis out of commision right now."
"What happened?" Aiz asked, feeling concern for Lefiya once she shoved that feeling of dread and taste of iron back. The Perseus adjusted her glasses once more before shaking her head.
"Classified. Just tell her friend that everything is fine."
Naturally the entire Loki Familia had looks of suspicions on their faces. Hermes smiled, as if nothing weird was happening. Bete scoffed, putting his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the wall.
"Pah. So what, we got called to babysit? Really?"
"It's not like you got anything better to do," Finn countered. "Besides, we already accepted. We'll be going down there as the big weapons. As in everyone in this room."
"No mages?" Gareth asked, intrigued. The captain in response bit his thump with narrowed eyes.
"The thought of bringing along Riveria or Lefiya makes my thumb tingle."
Aiz and the others tensed up. By now his thumb was a long known trait of his. Which did not bode well for the kind of monster they were going to face, if mages felt like a bad idea. Several factors could play into this bad feeling of Finn. It could mean it was either magic resistant, too small of a target, too fast. A lot of things.
"Huh." Tiona crossed her arms behind her head. "Any ideas what that monster is?"
To their disappointment, the god known for gathering information shook his head, raising his hands helplessly.
"None at all. Nobody knows what it looks like. Even when someone right in front of them got picked off."
Aiz narrowed her eyes as did the other top ranked adventurers. That implied speed. A lot of speed, since there were a lot of strong individuals, like Bors Elder. She glanced at Bete who barred his teeth with a grin, as if sensing a challenge to his own speed.
"Ha! Guess this lil' Hide and Seek won't be so boring after all!"
Killings in Rivira. By an entity strong and fast enough to not leave behind any clues of its species. Aiz reached for her mouth, grimacing at the returning taste of iron in her mouth. It was uncanny. Was it really a coincidence? She didn't have Finn's thumb or the like, but a part of her, the instincts of an adventurer, told her that her dream was perhaps more prophetic than she first thought.
"Aiz?" Finn asked, giving her a worried look. She tensed up when everyone turned towards her. Quickly she shook her head.
"It's nothing."
But who would believe her? It sounded like utter nonsense to her. Future sight was an ability reserved to the gods perhaps, not her. With that in mind she left the office like everyone else, preparing herself against the unknown.
Time until the War game: One week and a half.