Chapter Twelve – Riptide
All of Class VII stood in silence outside Trista Station as they attempted to absorb what they had just been told by Yun Ka-Fai. Rean wasn't the Sword Hermit's final student, but Cyrus was, and to make matters worse, Cyrus was a Divine Blade, a true Master of the Eight Leaves One Blade Style.
"You're a Divine Blade?" Elliot gasped.
"Cyrus, why didn't you tell us?" Laura added, trying to not collapse under the weight of the information that had just been tossed upon her.
"That's why," Cyrus frowned, pointing at Rean.
For several long moments, Rean had remained silent, looking at his feet; his hair falling down over his face and obscuring his eyes. Cyrus knew that Rean was never going to take the news of him being a Divine Blade well, which was one of the reasons he had put off mentioning it for as long as he had done.
"You lied to me," Rean whispered after a few minutes.
"What?" Cyrus responded, raising an eyebrow.
"You lied to me!" Rean shouted, glaring at Cyrus, his eyes stinging with tears.
"Fuck off I did. When?" Cyrus growled, glaring back at Rean.
"That's enough, Rean. I understand that you're upset, but that's no way to speak to a Master of the Eight Leaves," Ka-Fai stated calmly.
"You told me that you never learned anything of the Eight Leaves Style when I asked you two months ago!" Rean cried.
"Wrong. I said I never learned anything other than the unarmed form from Cassius Bright, which is true, as it was Master Ka-Fai who taught me what I know," Cyrus stated, his stare never leaving Rean's face.
"And?" Ka-Fai looked at Cyrus.
"Yes, and Arios MacLaine taught me a few things too," Cyrus added.
"And?" Ka-Fai repeated.
"Alright, I get it… Shizuna helped too," Cyrus rolled his eyes.
"Shizuna?" Emma whispered, eliciting a shrug from Laura.
"She's another reason why I've come here, Cyrus," Ka-Fai stated. "She wants to meet with you."
"You're joking, right? First, she sends her fucking Death Squads after me, and now she wants to parley? Tell the bitch I told her she can ram her words up her arse," Cyrus snorted.
"I think this is a conversation best had in private, Cyrus," Ka-Fai nodded, looking at Class VII who all looked very confused.
As soon as the Sword Hermit said that, Rean took off with a run, disappearing through town and towards the Main Campus.
"Rean! Where are you going!?" Emma called out, but got no response.
"I think it'd be best that we leave him be for now. He obviously has a lot to process," Gaius whispered.
Slowly, all of Class VII started to make their way towards the Third Dormitory, leaving Cyrus and Ka-Fai behind. Laura lingered for a few moments, almost begging to ask questions of the two men, but decided it was better to leave them to it.
"Walk with me, Cyrus," Ka-Fai motioned as he started to walk the opposite direction to Class VII.
"Are you being serious, Master? Shizuna wants to talk, after everything?" Cyrus asked, as he matched the old man's pace.
"That's what she told me. Why she's decided to talk now is beyond me, but I sensed no deception in her words," Ka-Fai stated.
"Nah, she's full of shit. She's always hated me, and seen me as worthless. Fucking Remiferian Half-Breed," Cyrus spat.
"Cyrus! I thought you were raised better than that!" Ka-Fai snapped, scowling at Cyrus.
"What, so it's fine for that little bitch to call me 'Gaijin', but the moment I want to point out she's as Calvardian as I am, suddenly it's a problem?" Cyrus growled. "Actually, more to the point, I probably am more Calvardian than she is!"
"I know you have an axe to grind with her, but derogatory comments about one's family lineage won't solve anything," Ka-Fai stated.
"Yeah, well, at least I can say I don't have a father who is a traitor," Cyrus muttered.
"Why must you always bring that up? Yes, Epsilon betrayed Ikaruga and everyone blamed Shizuna. But she worked hard to show she is nothing like her father, and now she's their Head Commander. Surely you can at least respect her drive," Ka-Fai sighed.
"I would, if she hadn't sent those same Commanders she now leads to kill me. I don't even know what the fuck for! A minor indiscretion?!" Cyrus shouted.
"Well, then you can raise that issue with her when you speak with her. For the meantime, I think it's best you and I speak of these seals that you seem so intent on breaking…" Ka-Fai stated as he turned and looked at Cyrus.
Back at the Third Dormitory, the remainder of Class VII all began trying to process the idea that both Rean and Cyrus had both studied under the same sword master, as well as the latter becoming a Master of that style.
"I wonder how both Rean and Cyrus came to study under the Sword Hermit and have no idea about each other," Laura pondered.
"Well, it would have to have been at separate times, and sometime after Rean had finished his training, right?" Emma asked.
"Indeed, but I wonder what prompted Cyrus to take up the Eight Leaves Style, and more so why did Rean's Master choose to accept Cyrus if he had made Rean his final student?" Elliot pointed out.
"Are you fools really going to sit here and try and ponder the thoughts of those people?" Jusis scoffed as he sat down on the couch and pulled a book out from his blazer. "Although, that does now explain the mysterious letter and sword he got before we left for our Field Study last month."
"You know, that's actually a fair point. Something didn't sit right with me about that sword when we saw it. The Vander School is not too dissimilar to the Arseid School, in that they both use Greatswords. Why would a man who uses a Greatsword send his student a longsword that's much closer to a Calvardian Tachi than anything?" Laura reasoned.
"Hmph, I bet he was keeping that knowledge a secret deliberately so that he could hold it over Rean and act like he's better than him," Machias snorted.
"Oh, please. Do you even hear yourself speaking? Despite your nonsense for thinking a Novice could be better at something than a Master, do you honestly think Cyrus is the sort of person to play games like that?" Jusis laughed.
"Why else would he keep it a secret then, you dick?!" Machias yelled.
"Simply because he knew something like this would happen," Sara stated as she entered the room.
"Instructor?! You knew about this?" Laura asked, noticing how calm and collected Sara was.
"Yep, since day one. I saw how he obliterated that fiend during your Orientation exercise and knew he was more than he was letting on. I asked, and he told; simple as that," Sara shrugged.
"I don't get it though. He's a total powerhouse, which was obvious from the beginning, but why hide it?" Fie sighed.
"Well, it's like Elliot said; Rean was, for all intents and purposes, Yun Ka-Fai's final student. Something major must have happened for him to take Cyrus on as a student after he vowed to make Rean his last one," Sara reasoned.
"The Red Constellation. Do you remember what he told us? After the trauma, his family reached out to people they thought could help, one of those people was Cassius Bright, another Divine Blade. It stands to reason that it was Cassius who convinced Yun Ka-Fai to reconsider his stance on students," Emma said.
"Ok, but still, why would you go from a school that predominantly uses two-handed swords to a school that uses one handed swords?" Gaius asked.
"That would be because the Vander Style doesn't just use two handed swords," Cyrus stated from the doorway.
"Cyrus, you're back. Wh-where's your master?" Elliot asked, looking around and only seeing Cyrus.
"He's already gone. That was him responding to my sister's letter from a couple of months ago. We talked, he admonished me for my recklessness, and that was that," Cyrus shrugged.
"Hold on, back up a second. What's this about the Vander Style using different weapons?" Machias questioned.
"Those of you who went to Parm with me; you remember the little story I told you about my talk with the Empress, correct?" Cyrus began.
"What does a story have to do with this?" Fie muttered, looking bored.
"The story itself is not important, but the person in it who I mentioned. I told you about Master Matteus' youngest son, remember?" Cyrus looked at those who went to Parm with him, who slowly started nodding.
"Kurt, right? You said he was being looked after by his mother, as he was very sick at the time," Emma responded.
"Correct. Now, Kurt has always been a boy with a frail constitution, far different to his father, his brother Müller, and even his uncle Zechs. As such, he's never had the true strength to lift and use a Greatsword like they have," Cyrus explained.
"Heh, a Vander who isn't capable of learning his family's own sword style; that's gotta suck," Fie muttered.
"You'd think so, but that's where you're wrong. The Vander Style has two different sword styles," Cyrus stated.
"Of course! Roland Vander was a twin sword user himself!" Laura gasped, finally working it out.
"Bingo. While Kurt might be unable to practice the primary style of his family's school, he's still able to practice the dual wielding style that Roland once used," Cyrus stated.
"Which explains why you could learn the Eight Leaves Style yourself; you learned both Vander Styles!" Emma exclaimed.
"Precisely. Gold star for you. Yes, I learned the dual style alongside Kurt, and while I was able to master it before Kurt could even reach Intermediate level, it still painted a base for me to start the Eight Leaves style from," Cyrus responded.
"Ohh, but I do hope Rean is ok though. He looked so betrayed when he found out you were a Divine Blade," Emma muttered.
"It was obviously a shock to him, but give him time. He just needs to process things and come to terms with it all. Master Ka-Fai didn't betray him by making me his final student. Exceptional circumstances took place that effectively forced his hand; I had nothing to do with his decision," Cyrus shrugged.
"Tch, right, and I bet you now expect Rean to bend down and kiss your boots, Mr. Divine Blade of Thunder?" Machias mocked.
"No, but I will jam one of these boots so far up your arse that I'll kick your fucking teeth out of your mouth if you don't give it a rest!" Cyrus yelled.
"Imbecile," Jusis muttered, flicking through his book.
"Ok, ladies, that's enough arguing!" Sara shouted, clapping her hands to bring attention to her.
"Ugh… What's going on down here?" Alisa's voice whispered from the staircase.
"Hey, what are you doing down here? You should be in bed," Cyrus stated, walking over to the still-recovering girl.
"How could I sleep when I can hear you and Machias arguing like children," Alisa chuckled, before coughing harshly.
"Heh, looks like she's got both your numbers," Fie smirked as she looked at both Cyrus and Machias.
"Come, let's get you back to bed," Cyrus whispered.
"For someone who got injected with a lethal toxin, she seems to be doing well," Emma mused.
A few days had passed since Class VII returned from their Field Studies, and the situation amongst the students was icy at best. At some point during the night, Rean had returned to the dormitory, but hadn't said a word to Cyrus since finding out he was a Divine Blade. It was almost as if he had cut Cyrus out of his own reality.
While the rest of Class VII seemed somewhat concerned about Rean and his mental wellbeing, Cyrus wasn't bothered by it at all. In fact, he was impressed that Rean displayed sound understanding of the fundamentals Yun Ka-Fai had taught that allowed Rean to act like Cyrus didn't exist. Despite that, he knew his tiff wouldn't last long, as he knew that, deep down, Rean could not disrespect a Master of his school forever. At some point, the young boy would have to speak to Cyrus, primarily to get their issues out of the way.
Speaking of issues, Laura had started to overcome her issues with Cyrus, after learning he was a Divine Blade. The young girl respected any and all sword users, especially those who were skilled enough to master multiple disciplines, and Cyrus was no exception. While it hadn't been a massive step forward, Laura was now making the effort to talk to Cyrus, and bury any feelings of fear she had for him.
It was slow going, but Laura was slowly starting to come to terms with the fact that Cyrus was not the monster she had been traumatised by as a child. She still couldn't understand the similarities between the two, but slowly, logic was starting to prevail.
Meanwhile, over at the First Dormitory, Marquis Hyarms had indeed remained true to his word of sending Celestin to Thors in order to keep Patrick on a tight leash. From the few, very brief run-ins Class VII had had with Patrick since their return, it seemed that Celestin either took his job very, very seriously, or he enjoyed forcing Patrick to do inane things in order to stop him from causing trouble.
For the time being, it seemed like the Patrick problem had been effectively dealt with, but Class VII all knew Celestin couldn't watch Patrick every second of the day, and they all knew he was just waiting for Celestin to have his back turned so he could start more trouble with them.
Despite Patrick no longer being an immediate problem in the lives of Class VII, and Cyrus' in particular, Cyrus had a new problem he needed to deal with; Alisa.
After what had happened to her in Saint-Arkh, Cyrus felt wholly responsible for the fact she had almost died at the hands of killers who were targeting him, and needed to make sure such an event would not happen again. Despite her best efforts, she had been confined to her room since she returned to Trista, and had been given strict orders not to go anywhere unless it was absolutely necessary, which made it easy for Cyrus to track her down, and it was how he found himself outside of her bedroom at that point in time.
"Hey, Alisa; you got a minute?" Cyrus asked as he knocked on Alisa's door before opening it.
"Cyrus? What's wrong?" Alisa asked weakly, as she struggled to sit up in bed.
"There's something I need to discuss with you, and it can't wait any longer," Cyrus stated as he grabbed the chair from her desk and placed it next to the bed and sat in it.
"What is it?" Alisa mumbled, starting to feel nervous at Cyrus' serious expression.
"We need to talk about what happened to you in Saint-Arkh," Cyrus began. "I need you to understand that you were targeted because of me."
"Yeah, I know… Laura told me about everything that happened; how you saved me, and how you dispatched that other assassin who was working with the one who poisoned me," Alisa commented, as she tried to reach for Cyrus' hand, but was denied as he pulled away.
"Yes, I saved you… This time. What happens if you get targeted again when I'm not there? I can't protect you every hour of every day, much like how the Vander Family protect the Royal Family. You and I both have our own duties to attend to, and then there are the Field Studies; I can't be there to protect you if we get sent to different corners of the Empire. The next time Ikaruga try and go after me through you, I might not be there to save you," Cyrus stated, staring at the floor, his silver hair hanging down over his eyes, hiding them from Alisa.
"Hold on… Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Alisa rasped as she forced herself to sit up.
"I think, for the foreseeable future, you should keep your distance from me. It would keep you safer than if you were around me all the time. I know it's probably not what you want to hear, but I'm afraid this is a non-negotiable command. I cannot protect you, and I will not put you in harm's way again. I'm sorry," Cyrus muttered as he stood up and took his leave before stopping and looking back at Alisa. "You can no longer trust in me to keep you safe, but I want you to trust in the Azure Dragon to do it in my stead."
Alisa was too gobsmacked to say anything as she watched Cyrus walk out of her room. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at the Ring of the Azure Dragon Cyrus had given her; a token to their newfound friendship, which shined a dazzling blue, much like the colour of the Balares Sea during the summer.
Maybe it was due to the flood of emotions she was feeling at that time, and what Cyrus had said to her about the ring protecting her, but whenever she looked at the ring, a warm sensation washed over her, making her feel safe.
As Cyrus left Alisa's room and closed the door, Laura just so happened to be leaving her room to go downstairs. With no-one around, Laura decided it was time to be brave and approach Cyrus directly.
"Cyrus, do you have a moment?" Laura asked.
"Sure," Cyrus sighed. "What's up?"
"Uhh, is everything ok?" Laura asked, noticing a gloomy expression on Cyrus' face.
"It's nothing you need to worry about. What can I do for you?" Cyrus asked, trying to direct Laura away from his personal problems.
"I probably already know the answer, but I'm going to ask you again; fight me," Laura said, taking Cyrus by surprise.
"Why? Last time you attempted that, I broke you. Now, despite what you might think of me, Laura, I do actually like you, and seeing you reduced to that state is not something I enjoyed, or want to do again," Cyrus frowned.
"I understand that, but since finding out you are a Divine Blade, I've become curious about something," Laura responded mysteriously.
"Curious about what?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow.
"Well, Rean and I have already sparred together, and it was interesting to say the least… But you're only one of three Divine Blades, so the opportunity to spar with one is incredibly rare," Laura explained.
"Five," Cyrus stated.
"Excuse me?" Laura frowned.
"As far as I am aware, there are five Divine Blades; Master Ka-Fai, Arios MacLaine, Cassius Bright, myself, and one more…"
"I assume that is the Shizuna you and Master Ka-Fai were talking about?" Laura asked.
"Yeah… Nasty little bitch, she is. You ever hear the name 'Silver Princess' on the battlefield, run," Cyrus stated. "Discretion is the better part of valour, so never be ashamed to flee if you ever face her in battle."
"I'll keep that in mind, but you still haven't answered my question," Laura responded. "Will you fight me?"
"Under one condition," Cyrus declared, taking Laura by surprise.
"Name it," Laura said.
"I want you to go all out, but you cannot expect the same from me. If all you want is a measure of my power as a Divine Blade, then as long as you get to cross swords with me, that should be enough for you," Cyrus answered, getting a nod from Laura.
"It's not what I was hoping for, but I can understand your reasoning. Very well, I accept," Laura agreed.
"Good. Meet me on the Practice Field in five minutes," Cyrus nodded.
"Wait, what? Now?" Laura gasped, completely taken aback.
"Why not? After what happened last time, I understand that you demand satisfaction, so let's do it now," Cyrus responded as he walked down the stairs. "I just need to grab something from my room. I'll see you at the Practice Field."
True to her word, Laura arrived at the Practice Field five minutes later. Cyrus had half expected the rest of Class VII to be behind her, desperate to see their little contest. Much to his relief though, Laura came alone. It was already dark out, but Cyrus knew that was only going to make things more noticeable.
"Alright, I'm ready when you are," Laura declared as she carried her sword with her to Cyrus.
"Very well, but I'm going to make one change to our agreement," Cyrus said as he stood up.
"What is it?" Laura asked, feeling quietly disappointed.
"If you want to measure my power, then I'll attack you first; I want you to block that strike, just to get a feeling of the gap between us in terms of power," Cyrus stated.
"You want me to block your strike?" Laura blinked, visibly confused.
"Yes… If you're still able to stand after that, I'll permit you your duel," Cyrus nodded as he walked to his starting position.
Laura gulped slightly as she walked. While she was sure he didn't mean to, Cyrus had managed to unsettle her with his words. The idea that a single strike could take her down was quite unnerving. Not even her father had used such force in a sparring match with her, and there was no way Cyrus could stand at the level of the Radiant Blademaster.
"I'm ready when you are!" Laura shouted as she held her Greatsword up in a guarding position.
Cyrus said nothing as he unsheathed Black Emperor, and held it up, pointing it at Laura, who braced herself, ready to see how powerful Cyrus was.
Immediately, Laura felt the same kind of humidity in the atmosphere that she had felt on the day Cyrus had fought the Fencing Club, and when he showed Class VII his Railgun ability. She knew an attack was coming, so she got herself ready.
In the time it took Laura to blink, Cyrus had moved and vanished from her line of sight. His speed alone astounded Laura. She quickly started to panic before calming herself down and trying to prepare herself to defend his incoming attack.
Within a few short seconds, the sound of rolling thunder hit the Practice Field, and Laura knew what she had to do.
'From behind!' Laura thought as she turned around and as soon as she did, she was hit with what was arguably the most powerful force she had ever felt in her life.
The strike from Cyrus was quick and clean. His Dao clattered into Laura's Greatsword and the impact shattered the ground and the sound of thunder roared overhead, deafening Laura to the clang of metal as both weapons collided.
The attack was over as quickly as it had begun. Unbeknownst to Laura, she had closed her eyes as she turned, and the immense power and loud thunder had overpowered her senses to the point that she had no idea that she had collapsed in the crater the impact had made, until she opened her eyes and saw Cyrus standing over her, mouthing something.
"What was that?" Laura rasped as she found her senses starting to return.
"I said, are you ok?" Cyrus repeated as he held out his hand and pulled her up.
"I… I think so. What happened?" Laura asked as she brushed dirt off her uniform.
"You blocked my strike. I'm impressed; you managed to anticipate where I was coming from and responded in perfect time. Too early and your sword would have been destroyed. Too late and I'd have cleaved you in two," Cyrus stated, looking visibly impressed.
"Well, I still collapsed from the strike, so I'd say it wasn't as good as you're making it out to be," Laura mumbled.
"If you're unharmed with no cuts or broken bones, you can call it a success. Now, would you like to carry on?" Cyrus asked, picking up both weapons.
"N-no… I'm alright, thank you. I got exactly what I needed from that one strike," Laura muttered as she took her Greatsword back from Cyrus. "I'm… I'm going to go back to the dormitory now."
"Hey, hold on a second!" Cyrus called out, stopping Laura in her tracks. "I don't know what you were wanting to achieve from this venture, but the fact you no longer want to proceed concerns me. Look, take this; it'll help you get stronger."
Without another word, Cyrus handed Laura a small envelope, which she took with confusion. She could immediately tell there was something inside the envelope that had a decent amount of weight, so she became immediately curious.
"What is it?" Laura asked as she began to open the envelope.
"No, no… Not here. Save it for when you're back in your room," Cyrus responded, closing Laura's hands over the envelope.
Laura looked at Cyrus with great confusion as he bid her goodnight and went back to the dormitory himself. After taking another brief look at the envelope, she tucked it away into her breast pocket on her jacket and followed suit, returning to the dormitory herself.
"Hey Laura, where have you been?" Machias asked as he wandered out of the kitchen into the living area.
"Just outside…" Laura muttered, feeling the concern in her mind growing by the second.
"Weird weather outside tonight, huh?" Machias muttered as he opened a textbook and started to study.
"I'm sorry?" Laura turned, looking at Machias with confusion.
"The weather? Outside? That massive clap of thunder a few minutes ago, then nothing? Laura, are you alright?" Machias asked, standing up and approaching Laura.
"No, yes, I'm alright. I'm sorry, Machias, I'm tired. I'm going to my room. Excuse me," Laura mumbled as she carried on walking, as if she was on auto-pilot.
Machias said nothing as he watched Laura slowly make her way upstairs and disappear from sight. As Laura made it up to the girl's rooms on the second floor, she ran into Emma, who had just finished brushing her teeth.
"Laura, what's wrong?" Emma asked, looking at the despondent expression on Laura's face.
"I now understand why Cyrus refused to fight me a couple of weeks ago," Laura stated quietly.
Concern and confusion growing inside her, Emma took Laura to her room and attempted to get to the bottom of things.
"What do you mean you felt nothing?" Emma asked, sounding confused.
"Exactly what I meant. His attack; I felt nothing in it," Laura repeated.
"I don't understand. How could you feel nothing when you said he hit you with the force of a storm?" Emma sighed, trying to wrap her head around Laura's cryptic explanation.
"Remember when I said sword users communicate their thoughts and emotions through the clash of steel instead of words?" Laura asked.
"I think I remember you saying something like that in Instructor Mary's class, yes," Emma said.
"Well, that's exactly it; swordsmen and women can communicate with one another simply through fighting one another. It's also how you can tell what level they're at as a sword user," Laura explained.
"Ok, but with Cyrus, you say you felt nothing?" Emma asked.
"Yes. Any person who uses a sword should feel something, and yet with him… It was just empty. Like he wasn't even a person, just an empty vessel that can swing a sword," Laura clarified.
"Sounds to me like he doesn't have a soul," Emma mused, chuckling at the absurdity of her own comment.
"Yes… That's almost exactly how I could describe it," Laura reasoned. "It's not something I have ever experienced before, but the feeling… It was terrifying."
"Well, everyone has a soul, Laura. The Church teaches you that from a young age, doesn't it?" Emma stated. "Is it possible he was holding back his thoughts and feelings, because he is a private person, after all."
"I don't know, maybe? I mean, he is a Divine Blade; maybe he learned a technique to mask his emotions in battle to stop people from being able to read him?" Laura suggested.
"It's possible, and I don't think Rean would know if he could or not, considering they're at opposite ends of the skill spectrum," Emma nodded.
"Although, I am curious about this," Laura muttered as she pulled the envelope out of her pocket.
Emma sat in silence as she watched Laura open the envelope and drop the contents onto her desk. The object inside the envelope clattered on the wooden desk, and confused Laura and Emma.
"It… It's a ring?" Emma muttered, looking at Laura with confusion.
Emma was right, the object that had been in the envelope was just a simple ring. It was a small black ring with two small rubies attached to it, with a third, larger ruby attached between them. Laura picked up the ring and examined it. It just looked like a normal ring. No engraving, no indication it was anything special.
"Why would he give me a ring and say it'll make me stronger?" Laura asked.
"Maybe this is his way of showing emotion? After all, if you wear it, you'll see it when you're training, think of him and give you a drive to get stronger," Emma shrugged, unsure what else to say.
"Hmph, very well… I'll test that theory then," Laura declared, as she put the ring on her ring finger.
It had now been a week since Laura had crossed blades with Cyrus, and she had gone back to being somewhat unsettled by him. This time, however, it was apparent to Cyrus, and he decided that he'd leave her alone again, until she was ready to come to terms with what she felt, or hadn't felt, when she blocked his attack.
Luckily for Cyrus, he had received some documents back from the Erebonian Government about plans for the casino Crow wanted to have. Since the fiasco with Crow, Lechter, and Cyrus' father, Cyrus had been keeping Crow at arms' length as he realised there was no good reason for him to explicitly trust Crow.
Yes, he worked with Crow last year during his trip to Ordis with Angelica, George, and Towa, but a week wasn't enough time to get to know someone. While he had deemed Crow to be a halfway decent person, and was in fact friends with him, he didn't really know Crow well enough to trust him with the financial and legal responsibilities that came with running a casino.
While it was now June, and with it Summer, a rain storm had appeared from out of nowhere and started to lash the centre of the country, with Heimdallr, Trista, and Leeves to the West, to receive the worst of it. As it was, Cyrus had no intention of going out to the Second Dormitory to find Crow. Instead, he made Crow come to him. His reasoning was simple enough; if Crow was serious about wanting to have a casino, then he would do anything to have it.
Shockingly enough, after calling Crow on his ARCUS, the boy had in fact arrived at Cyrus' room at the Third Dormitory. The only thing that concerned and annoyed Cyrus was Crow's method of getting there.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Cyrus snapped, opening his window upon seeing the sight of a drenched Crow waving to him from outside.
"What? You asked me to come see you, so I did," Crow shrugged as he climbed through the window and proceeded to shake himself dry, much like a dog would do.
"Shockingly, Crow, there are these revolutionary things called doors. They're much easier to use than a fucking window," Cyrus scowled as Crow shook water everywhere.
"Yeah, but considering I got banned the last time I was here, I figured they wouldn't let me in," Crow responded.
"What? How do you manage to get banned from school property?" Cyrus blinked.
"I don't know. Laura was the one who kicked me out. It was shortly after you left with that babe from the Church," Crow stated.
"That was probably because you outstayed your welcome. I have a great deal of patience, and you manage to test that at the best of times. How do you think the rest of Class VII are going to feel about you and your stupidity?" Cyrus sighed as he threw a towel that was hanging up on the back of his door at Crow.
"Ouch, harsh," Crow smirked. "Anyway, I think Rean would be cool with me being here. The rest? Ah, just give me time to work the ol' Armbrust charm, and I'll be best friends with everyone; especially the ladies."
"Tell me something, Crow, has the 'ol' Armbrust charm' ever actually worked?" Cyrus asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uhh, let's see… I guess it worked on Gelica, since she no longer wants to kick my head in. I managed to talk down Vice Principal Heinrich the other week when he accused me of being disruptive on campus, screaming and swearing. Still have no idea what that was all about, though… Oh! Yeah, that's right! It worked on those pink haired twins that started here this year! Well, one of them, at least… I think?" Crow declared proudly, despite being a little confused about the twins.
"Who, Vivi and Linde?" Cyrus snorted. "Wow, I'm impressed."
"Yeah, see? Ya boy's still got it!" Crow grinned.
"You really are an idiot… Anyway, no thanks to your meddling, I was able to get the permits approved to open a casino in Heimdallr," Cyrus stated, showing Crow the documents he received.
"Aww, no way! That's awesome!" Crow cheered. "Man, I'm gonna get so! Fuckin'! Rich!"
"How do you figure that?" Cyrus asked.
"Well, you said it yourself; casinos make mad bank, and as the owner, I'll get to keep the profits," Crow explained, causing Cyrus to laugh.
"Owner? No, no, no… You won't be the owner. I am the owner; you'll be working for me," Cyrus stated.
"Wait, what?! C'mon, man! It was my idea to begin with!" Crow cried.
"Crow, your 'idea' was to swindle people out of money through malicious purposes. I came up with the idea of a casino, and I used my business license with the EMBC to get it approved. All you did was make a mess of things by meddling," Cyrus stated darkly.
"What, so you brought me here to rub it in my face?" Crow frowned, looking defeated.
"No, not quite. I'm not a swindler like you, Crow. All business I conduct gets done fairly, so here's my proposal. You work for me, and you get ten percent of the casino's profits each week," Cyrus offered.
"Ten percent?!" Crow shouted, seemingly insulted. "I might as well clean toilets for that much."
"Are the toilets you're going to clean made of fucking gold or something?" Cyrus snapped, confusing Crow. "Hold on… Crow, how much money does a casino make in a week, do you think?"
"I don't know, like… Half a million Mira?" Crow shrugged. "Which would mean you're only offering me fifty thousand Mira a week.
"Crow… The casino in Raquelle clears thirty five million a week. In Raquelle. If we set one up in Heimdallr, we could easily triple that," Cyrus explained.
"Hmm, let's see… If we triple thirty five million…" Crow muttered, trying to do the math on his fingers.
"You're looking at roughly a hundred and five million Mira in a week; ten percent of that is around ten and a half million Mira," Cyrus sighed, doing the math for Crow.
"TEN AND A HALF MILLION MIRA A WEEK?!" Crow screamed.
Fortunately for Cyrus, and the rest of the Third Dormitory, a loud boom a thunder rolled across Trista at the same time Crow decided to have an aneurysm over the amount of money he'd be set to earn. As a result, Cyrus was able to see Crow's lips moving, but no sound had come out.
"Are you quite finished?" Cyrus scowled, watching as Crow started to drool over the thought of having more money than he'd ever know what to do with.
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. You were saying?" Crow grinned.
"I was saying that I'm willing to give you ten percent of the casino's takings, if you pull your weight and help me get it set up and work there when I tell you to," Cyrus stated.
"Done!" Crow exclaimed, not even letting Cyrus take a breath after finishing his proposal before agreeing to it.
"Yes, I thought you'd say that. Here," Cyrus sighed, handing Crow a piece of paper.
Crow took the piece of paper and looked at what was written on it, his excitement turned to disappointment when he realised what he was looking at.
"Why have you given me your shopping list? I'm not your butler," Crow muttered.
"No, you idiot, it's a list of things we're going to need to get the casino up and running. Since you'll be working there, I figured you'd like to have some kind of input as to how the place looks," Cyrus snapped, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, ok! Sure thing. I can go to Heimdallr on my next Free Day and have a look around for stuff," Crow nodded as he put the piece of paper in his back pocket.
"Just remember, I'm the one making the final decisions, but since I cannot trust you to not be stupid, I'm going to have Reginald accompany you. As far as I'm aware, Mother will be in Heimdallr next weekend to aid in setting up a new show at the Heimdallr Opera House," Cyrus said.
"You got it, boss!" Crow beamed, giving Cyrus a stupid salute as he took his leave.
"Ah-ah-ah! Where are you going?" Cyrus asked.
"I was going to use the door?" Crow responded, looking confused.
"Now, Crow… You should know how this works by now. If someone happens to see you in the dormitory, especially one of the girls, they're going to assume you snuck in here for nefarious purposes. If that happens, I would have to surmise that all your Free Days for the rest of your time here will be occupied by serving detentions with Vice Principal Heinrich. No, no, that won't do at all…" Cyrus explained, as he walked over to the window and opened it again.
"Aww, man… Next time, I'm going to use the front door like a normal person…" Crow sighed as he walked over to the window and climbed out.
"Very good. Don't catch a cold on your way back to your room!" Cyrus smirked as he slammed the window shut and locked it, leaving Crow out on the sill, getting drenched by the torrential rain.
Along with a summer storm, June also brought along another event that all students dreaded; the midterm exams. While Emma and Machias were the only ones looking forward to the exams, the rest of the class were apprehensive about them, with the exception of Cyrus, who didn't seem to care either way. That was, however, until Patrick Hyarms decided to pay them a visit in class one day.
Class VII had just finished home room for the day, signalling the end of the school day, and were all packing up and about to leave when Patrick blocked the doorway of the classroom, preventing anyone from leaving.
"Patrick, what are you doing?" Jusis sighed, knowing he was about to be subjected to yet another episode of 'Patrick's Tomfoolery'.
"Yeah, where's your babysitter, Pattykins? Isn't it about time for your afternoon bottle and nap?" Cyrus snorted, which elicited the same reaction from Fie.
"How dare you speak to Patrick that way, scum!" Eric yelled, still ever eager to please his master.
"That's quite enough, Eric. We, as Nobles, don't need to debase ourselves by stooping to the level of refuse," Patrick stated calmly, waving a hand for good measure. "Class VII, as I'm sure you're too simple to realise, but midterms are just around the corner, and I'm here to tell you now that it makes no difference how hard you try and study; as you'll never be able to surpass Class I. We have been at the top of the rankings for the last thirty years, and that will be no different after this round of exams."
"Patrick, do you really have nothing better to do with your time than to come here and annoy us?" Machias groaned. "If you're so confident you'll win, perhaps you should take the extra time to study just in case we surprise you."
"Hmph, don't patronise me, Regnitz. You think a class of ten can hope to have a better aggregate score than Class I?" Patrick snorted. "I could score a zero on my midterms, and we'd still place higher than you."
"Something tells me that if you think that by having more people in your class means you're guaranteed to have a better aggregated score, then you should have started studying months ago," Cyrus muttered, staring out the window.
"What's that supposed to mean, whelp?!" Eric shouted.
"Fucking hell, does the Hyarms family pay you to speak for Patrick or something? By the Gods, shut the fuck up and let your master speak for a change!" Cyrus snapped.
"Much as I hate to admit it, Cyrus is right; having more people in your class means it'll be harder to get a better score, since you'll have more people to calculate an average on," Machias stated, pushing his glasses back up his nose.
"Looks like someone didn't think this through before coming here and making a boob of himself," Fie muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Hmph, talk all you want, but it won't change the fact Class I are still going to be the winners at the end of these exams," Patrick scoffed.
"Since when did it become a competition? Classes are all graded on the same curve. Our scores will have no impact on your curriculum, just like how your scores will have no impact on ours," Laura stated.
One by one, all of Class VII came to an agreement that it meant nothing to them in regards to who placed higher on the midterms, and came to the conclusion that Patrick was an idiot who was just looking to start trouble.
"Yes, well, I can't say I'm surprised that a class full of rats and delinquents could ever hope to be better than a class of Erebonia's finest Nobles… Even if that Florald brat has to be counted among us," Patrick snorted.
Of course, Patrick just had to go there. He was not content with trying to make Class I sound better than Class VII without dragging Ferris' name through the mud. At this, Cyrus turned to look at Patrick, the same bored expression on his face that he had when he was at the First Dormitory a couple of weeks beforehand.
"You really want to do this?" Cyrus muttered, staring right through Patrick, much like how he did before.
"Oh, struck a nerve, have I? Pathetic, that the mere mention of that pitiful excuse for a Noble is your weakness," Patrick snorted, getting laughs from his bootlickers.
"Patrick, I don't think it's registered in that pea-sized brain of yours that Ferris is also a Le Guin by blood. By all rights, she's basically my half-sister, given the fact our mothers are twins. She's more of a Le Guin than a Florald, and that means she possesses our keen intellect and competitive drive. I'd put a million Mira on the very outcome that she crushes you in the midterms," Cyrus stated.
"Tch, only a million? Well, I suppose lower Nobles like yourself don't have the same level of finances that the greater Nobles have. A pity," Patrick guffawed.
"Alright then, Pattycakes, you give me an amount you think is suitable, and I'll triple it," Cyrus stated, never losing the look of boredom on his face.
"Confident you can afford it, are we? Hmph, very well… How about ten million Mira?" Patrick smirked.
By now, a collective sound of gasping had come from the majority of Class VII. Ten million was an insane amount of money to all of them, except to Jusis, and Patrick was now expecting Cyrus to triple it?
"Fine, I'll triple that, and add on an extra twenty million, just for the hell of it," Cyrus muttered.
"I'm sorry, are you seriously going to bet fifty million that Ferris can do better than Patrick on the midterms?!" Elliot cried.
"I was expecting him to up the ante even further, but I suppose when he's gambling with daddy's money, he can't afford to lose a lot," Cyrus shrugged.
"I thought fifty million Mira was supposed to be a lot of money? Was I wrong?" Gaius asked, looking at Alisa.
"No…" Alisa choked, still feeling the effects of the poison she had been injected with in Saint-Arkh. "No, that is a stupid amount of money to waste on a pissing match with Patrick!"
"Very well then… You've got yourself a deal, but when you lose, which you will, I'll expect payment in full, immediately. If you can't afford it, I suppose I can find you a place as one of my whipping boys until the debt is paid in full," Patrick grinned.
Without a word, Cyrus stood up and walked over to Patrick, his sheer size and presence dominating Patrick and making him feel very small.
"Alright, Hyarms; you got yourself a deal," Cyrus muttered, offering his hand to Patrick in order to shake on the agreement, which Patrick took and immediately felt his hand get crushed as Cyrus pulled Patrick toward him, a dark glare on his face. "But let me be clear; you do anything to sabotage Ferris, I will drag you from wherever the hell I find you, and I will hang you from the rooftop of this fucking building. Do I make myself clear?!"
Patrick's cry of pain and him collapsing to his knees was all Cyrus needed to know that Patrick had accepted his warning. Letting go of the Hyarms' boy's hand, he let Patrick scurry away.
"Don't you think you're both taking this grudge a little too far?" Emma asked after several moments of silence.
"Not really. I didn't break any of his bones this time. Besides, Celestin will be here to keep an eye on the little prick. My warning to Patrick was more of a message to Celestin; do your job," Cyrus grunted as he picked his stuff up and left the classroom.
It didn't take long for the school to hear about the bet between Cyrus and Patrick. After all, fifty million Mira was a stupid amount of money to bet on how well someone can do on a test. A large majority of the Commoners all thought the bet itself was stupid, and most of the Nobles had agreed Cyrus was stupid for putting a bet on the performance of another person.
Of course, none of that bothered Cyrus, as he knew Ferris had more intelligence than the entirety of Patrick's entourage combined. He knew it was a safe bet, so he wasn't worried. Instead of listening to the inane comments of his peers, Cyrus decided he would instead go to Heimdallr and try and find a suitable place to put his casino.
It was nine o'clock at night when Cyrus stepped off the train in Heimdallr Central Station. He had decided to wait until night-time, so he could get a better idea of where his casino would be more suited to go. As he walked down Vainqueur Street, he started to look for an ideal spot.
He knew that the only suitable places would be along Vainqueur Street, or in the Garnier District; Heimdallr's upper class shopping district. Having it near the Heimdallr Racetrack was too far out of the way, and no other district was suitable, due to it being residential, industrial, or simply too poor.
An hour had passed and Cyrus was still no closer to finding the ideal spot for his casino. He knew he couldn't just build a new building for it; he had to find a building that wasn't being used, or was being used by a failing business that would happily take his money to transfer ownership over to him. At this point, either would be acceptable to him.
Before long, Cyrus had found himself in the Port of Heimdallr, and while the port itself was closed for the night, he hadn't come here by accident. He had come to the port because he was being followed. Whoever it was, Cyrus knew they were amateurs; he had noticed them the moment he left the station, but with how busy Heimdallr was, even late at night, he didn't want to risk spooking them and having them flee. But since the port was empty, he could now turn the tables on his stalker with a minimum of fuss.
As he walked behind a stack of shipping containers, he waited for his pursuer to approach him. He knew it wasn't a Jäger from Ikaruga, since he was able to sense them. He couldn't discount it being someone from Heiyue, looking in on his progress on his latest assassination contract, but if that was the case, why didn't the Chairman just ask him for an update? Although, that would have been a waste of time, as Cyrus hadn't had much opportunity to dig in to the mysterious 'Sylphid'.
As he felt his mark coming up on his position, he put his hand into his back pocket and pulled out a small, hand sized katar, another habit from his days as an Assassin, and the moment the shape of a person appeared from behind where he was hiding, he grabbed them, slammed them into the metal container and brought the katar up under their chin, ready to drive the blade into their skull.
"AHHH! NO! STOPSTOPSTOPSTOP! IT'S ME!" a woman cried in panic, causing Cyrus to halt his strike.
After looking at the woman, Cyrus immediately recognised who it was. It was the Chief Technical Officer of his cauldron projects; Miss Collins.
"Levana? What the hell are you doing here?" Cyrus growled, releasing his grip from around her throat and putting the katar away.
"Looking for you, of course! What the hell was that for? You almost killed me!" Levana cried, rubbing her throat.
"Why? You should be at Omega by now. I thought Dominic had the Spectres collect you from Echo to bring you in and help with Sky Ripper, so why are you here?" Cyrus snapped, demanding an answer.
"Hmph, trust Dominic to not say anything… I've been assisting with Project Redeye over in Cauldron Gamma. I do believe you said Redeye was just as important as Sky Ripper, didn't you?" Levana frowned.
"So? Once a Collection Order is issued to Spectres, they know where they're supposed to go. So, I'll repeat, what the hell are you doing here?" Cyrus repeated.
Despite their thorny interaction, Cyrus and Levana Collins were very close allies. They had met in Crossbell a couple of years ago; he was on a job for Heiyue at the time, and she was there representing the Roer Institute of Technology, and Erebonia, at an engineering conference, along with scientists from Zeiss Central Factory in Liberl, the Epstein Foundation, and the Verne Company of Calvard.
At the time, Cyrus had no idea the person he and his partner Yin were hunting was the director of the Verne Company. Someone had paid Heiyue a great deal of money to have him killed, and the Chairman had passed the assignment off to Cyrus, with Yin electing to assist.
The constraint of the kill the client had specifically asked for was that it look like an accident in a public setting that also tarnished the director's name and legacy. So, Cyrus had decided that the director would meet his untimely demise by tampering with a new project the director had been working on; an Orbal Phase Actuator. A device that allowed any kind of matter to be broken down and teleported and rebuilt elsewhere without any casualties, essentially killing off the need for any kind of transportation.
The Director had already tested it and knew it worked, which is why he brought the device along with him to Crossbell. Several people had already witnessed the device in action, and knew the man had stumbled upon something that was the biggest breakthrough in technology since Claude Epstein triggered the Orbal Revolution.
However, when it came time to use the device, in front of hundreds of scientists at the conference, the director had gathered all of his benefactors, along with himself, to teleport themselves to the main office of the Verne Company in Calvard, and then back again. The end result was catastrophic.
At the time, Cyrus had no idea the director was going to transport innocents along with him, and as the machine fired up, he tried to stop them from using it, but was subdued by Yin. When Cyrus tried to shout out to them and stop them, that was when the young Miss Collins took notice of him. In the end, seven bodies left the conference in Crossbell, and what returned was a sight not even fathomable in the nightmares of those present.
Due to Cyrus' meddling of the device, the victims cells all fused together, creating a seething mass of body parts, all with separate consciousnesses. The one thing the blob shared was the levels of pain it was experiencing, letting out anguished wails that, even to this day, haunt those who bore witness to it.
The Crossbell Guardian Force were called in when the conference exploded into a panic, and quickly cleared up the situation, but could do little to help those who had witnessed such a horrific event. The conference was terminated immediately, and along with it, Cyrus' time at Heiyue. He refused to involve innocents as collateral, and got into an argument with Yin over it.
After Yin had left to go report the success of their mission to the Company, Levana found Cyrus and engaged in conversation with him. She knew it was Cyrus who had tampered with the machine and killed all those people, but instead of turning him in to the CGF, she wanted to know how he was able to do it. Upon learning of Cyrus' technically gifted mind, she was invited by Cyrus to work for him in his secret projects in the Cauldrons scattered across Erebonia. Much to Cyrus' surprise, she immediately accepted his offer, and they had been close partners ever since.
"Hey, keep in mind you just tried to kill me, so you could pay to be a little nicer to me," Levana huffed, still rubbing her throat which had started to go red.
"Levana, there are a dozen ways to contact me that don't require you to sneak around in the shadows. You should have called me; I left my contact information with Dr. Masters at Omega. I know I sent you the kill order on Blackstone, but it's not like I could have sat down and played catch-up with you," Cyrus sighed.
"Oh, funny you should mention that; we just finished moving Blackstone to Cauldron Sigma; the project is just about ready to be restarted. Silverlight thought…" Levana muttered.
"You leave Silverlight to me, I have pretty much everything I need to finish it myself. Have the Spectres turned up anything on the breach at any of the Cauldrons yet?" Cyrus asked.
"Not yet, but progress is slow; you know how many people work in those Cauldrons, so vetting them all is going to take some time. They have a theory at work, but they estimate their findings to only have a verifiable accuracy of sixteen-point seven percent," Levana responded.
Cyrus sighed heavily as he looked at his partner. She looked different than when he had last seen her before coming to Thors. Her naturally blonde hair was now candy pink, and the glasses she'd normally wear that framed her green eyes were now replaced with rose-tinted lenses. It was no wonder to Cyrus why he had almost killed her; he barely recognised her. Were it not for her voice and the small ochre necklace she always wore, he wouldn't have hesitated to attack.
"Yes, I am aware how many people are working on this with you, but for an op this large, I needed a massive amount of people, all at the head of their respective scientific fields," Cyrus stated.
"I'm more impressed you were able to pilfer people from all over the continent without the organisations knowing. You must have some serious Mira invested into this thing, or you're being backed by someone incredibly rich themselves," Levana responded.
"I can see what you're trying to do, Miss Collins, and it won't work. You are one of three people who have been read in on these projects because I know you're one of the best minds at Roer, working under Professor Gerhardt Schmidt at Roer for several years before working for me. You know all that you need to know, and that is it. As far as you should be concerned, it is my money that goes into your bank account each week, so you answer to me, and only me," Cyrus stated, using his rank as Overseer to silent his partner's attempts to know more about the operation Cyrus was running.
"You didn't seem to care too much about rank when you were fucking me a couple months ago…" Levana muttered quietly.
"What was that?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow, giving Levana another chance to choose how she responded to him.
"Oh, nothing! Nothing! Anyway, I guess I'll be heading off to Omega now. I hear poor Dominic is having trouble with Sky Ripper. Ta-ta for now, darling!" Levana responded jovially, waving to Cyrus as she ran back into the city.
'For a twenty-two-year-old woman, she really does have the maturity of a six-year-old at times…' Cyrus sighed as he returned to his task of finding a suitable spot for his casino.
It was now almost midnight in Heimdallr, and the nightlife of the city was starting to come alive. Various bars and restaurants were starting to close up, and the populace had begun to spill out onto the streets of the Imperial capital. Thousands of people were now milling about, all looking to either go home for the night, or find somewhere else to keep their fun rolling.
Cyrus was now back on Vainqueur Street, having turned up nothing solid for his casino, and was about ready to go back to Trista when he happened to overhear an interesting conversation.
"Dude! Duuuude! We gotta go to Club Himinbjörg tonight!" a drunk man was shouting to his friend, who was right next to him.
"Ohhh, totally! I heard Sylphid's gonna be fighting tonight! Dude, we gotta go put a thousand on 'em!" the other man, who was equally as drunk, shouted back.
'Sylphid? I wonder if that's who the Chairman was talking about…' Cyrus thought as he decided to follow the two men.
After half an hour of painstaking tailing, Cyrus finally found his way to Club Himinbjörg, where this mysterious Sylphid was supposed to be fighting. Cyrus had never heard of Club Himinbjörg before, and now he understood why. It was an underground fight club, ran out of the old Bracer HQ on Vesta Street. Looking at it, the building was perfect to run an illegal gambling syndicate out from, which meant it'd be just as perfect to run a casino out of.
There were quite a few people turning up to the building, albeit in a discreet manner. Given the fact it was in one of Heimdallr's residential districts, the patrons didn't want to give away the nature of the building. Standing outside were two large men wearing suits and sunglasses, and Cyrus knew they were bouncers.
Shrugging, Cyrus walked up to the two men, who looked at him from behind their sunglasses. One of the bouncers held out a hand, as if expecting Cyrus to hand him something.
"Invite," the man said with a deep, gruff voice.
"What?" Cyrus scowled. He didn't know it was an invite only event.
"You need an invite to get in. House rules," the other man stated with a cold voice.
"And if I don't have one?" Cyrus asked, almost challenging their authority.
"Then we've got a serious problem," the second man growled, cracking his knuckles and taking a step towards Cyrus.
"Hey, hold on a second, Hrolfr, look at him…" the first man muttered.
At his coworker's recommendation, Hrolfr looked at Cyrus and understood where he was going with his suggestion.
"Ahh, I see now… Fighters enter around the back," Hrolfr stated, returning to his post and becoming motionless.
Cyrus stood there for a second and said nothing, looking at the two bouncers before shrugging his shoulders and following their instructions. He had no intention of fighting tonight, but if it was the only way to get inside and see who this Sylphid was, then he decided that he was going to have to fight.
The back entrance to the building was through the building's wine cellar, a popular yet typical addition to most buildings in Heimdallr. While Cyrus seriously doubted the Bracer Guild ever used it for storing wine, he was immediately reminded that Sara was indeed a Bracer herself, and would have used this building whilst on assignment in Heimdallr.
As he descended the steps, into the cellar, he found himself looking at a whole host of different people; all different ages, sizes, body types. Some were men and some were women. Just what was the point of this fight club?
"You the new guy the Direwolf said was coming?" a large man called out, approaching Cyrus.
"Who?" Cyrus blinked, looking at the man with confusion.
"I'm asking the questions here, you bastard!" the man shouted, taking a step towards Cyrus.
"That's enough, Dante. You'll only get yourself killed," a calm voice called out from the opposite side of the room.
Out from the shadows stepped a tall man, with long golden-blond hair, wearing a suit and a pair of sunglasses that hid his eyes from everyone around him.
'What is it with these guys wearing sunglasses at night?' Cyrus frowned as he watched the man approach him.
"But, sir, he's an intruder. We can't have outsiders knowing about our operation here," Dante explained, bowing to the man as he approached.
"Oh, I can assure you that our operation is perfectly safe from harm. Isn't that right, Yang?" the man smirked, staring at Cyrus from behind his sunglasses.
"I take it you're the one known as 'Direwolf'?" Cyrus asked, looking at the man.
"That I am, but that's more of an alias. Call me Walter," the Direwolf responded.
"So, what exactly is this place?" Cyrus asked, looking at all the people.
"Well, Yang, I am a man who loves a good fight. I don't care if it's a fight I'm taking part in, or one I'm watching. As long as it provides entertainment, I'm there for it," Walter explained. "So, that's why I established Club Himinbjörg; to look for the best and brightest combatants in the Empire, all for the sake of good entertainment."
"You expect me to believe you're doing this just for entertainment?" Cyrus snorted. "These people look like they're looking to kill someone or something."
"I knew you'd understand it, Yang! Quite right, while the entertainment factor is a big part of it, I also use this club to recruit the strongest fighters to work for me," Walter smirked.
"So, is that the grand prize here? A chance to work for you, Direwolf?" Cyrus responded.
"Not at all. The ten million Mira prize pouch at the end of the season is what most of these warriors are here for. Working for me is a choice; you can if you want, but there's no penalty if you refuse," Walter stated. "Look around you, I'm sure you've noticed it by now; most of these people are Jägers or violent criminals. Some of them want to fight for a chance to win the money and disappear with it, others just want to enjoy the thrill of battle, like myself."
"Riiiiight… Say I wanted to be a part of this little fight club. What do I have to do?" Cyrus asked, making Walter laugh out loud.
"You, Yang, don't have to do anything! You wanna fight, then you're in!" Walter grinned, throwing something at Cyrus.
"What's this for?" Cyrus asked, looking at the object.
In his hand was a mask; an intricately designed one at that. It was half white, half crimson in colour and bore the visage of a demon, with fangs and a pair of giant horns. Cyrus turned it over in his hands and inspected it further. It just seemed like an ordinary mask; not tricks or hidden attachments to it.
"Anonymity is paramount at Club Himinbjörg. As I said, most of these people here are criminals; we can't let the spectators find out we allow people like that to fight here, so we make the fighters wear masks and use aliases. That mask there is now yours; all you have to do is pick an alias in which to fight under," Walter explained.
For several moments, Cyrus stood there in silence, looking at the mask he had been given. Unbeknownst to Walter, just by simply mentioning that Jägers fought in his club was all the information needed to determine his target was indeed a participant here. The odds of someone going by the name 'Sylphid' and it not be the Jäger he was assigned to kill by Heiyue was infinitesimally small.
"Can't I just go by Yang?" Cyrus scowled, looking up at Walter.
"I mean, you could, but if I know about your work as a vicious killer, then so will many of the fighters here, and that would make you a target for them, given you've more than likely killed their allies, or even their benefactors at some point along the way. The underworld knows all about Yang, so unless you want to die, I'd recommend you keep that identity a secret," Walter responded. "How about 'Crimson Yaksha'? I think that's an appropriate name myself."
Cyrus sighed as he mulled over the alias Walter had suggested. It wasn't terrible, and it was not too dissimilar to his sister's title of 'Golden Rakshasa'. Perhaps that was why Walter picked it? If he knew Cyrus was Yang, then it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to know who Cyrus really was, would it?
"Yes, fine, that'll do," Cyrus muttered.
"Excellent!" Walter laughed. "Now, unfortunately, I can't schedule you a fight tonight; last night of the season, ten million Mira prize pool, you know how it is. I can't have you lucking your way into a fight and winning the whole thing now, can I?"
"Then what was the point of all this nonsense?" Cyrus snapped, his patience immediately wearing thin.
"Well, I just wanted to see if you'd be interested in fighting in the new season starting at the end of the month," Walter smirked. "At least if we get all the formalities out of the way now, you won't need to worry about doing it at the start of next season, will you?"
"End of the month, you say? I suppose I don't really have a choice," Cyrus muttered. 'At least there were no time limits or anything on the contract the Chairman gave me.'
The following morning, Cyrus had returned to Trista on the first train leaving Heimdallr, and wasn't surprised to find the little town to still be sleeping. The sun was slowly starting to rise over the hills towards the East, and Cyrus knew it wouldn't be long before people started to wake up to face the day ahead.
All these things fell under the typical scope of what Cyrus had come to expect from Trista, so his interest was piqued when he saw a familiar face entering town from the opposite direction to him.
"Fie? What are you doing out this early?" Cyrus asked, looking at the small girl with curiosity.
"I dunno. I could ask you the same thing," Fie countered, surprising Cyrus at the hostile undertone in her voice.
"I've been in Heimdallr all night looking for a spot to open a new business venture. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had missed the last train back to Trista, so I had to take the first one this morning," Cyrus responded.
"You run businesses in your free time?" Fie snickered, causing Cyrus to scowl.
"How else do you expect me to make money? I mean, sure, I could just be like every other Noble and rich Commoner here, and sponge off my parents, but I think both my father, and Aurelia for that matter, would have a few choice words about that decision," Cyrus stated.
"Eh, fair enough. Guess no-one can call you a mooch then, huh?" Fie shrugged.
"No, but you still haven't answered my question. You're not normally awake at this hour, so what are you doing?" Cyrus pressed, trying to an answer out of the small, silver-haired girl.
"Meh, I guess it couldn't hurt to tell you," Fie muttered. "I was in Heimdallr too; putting my skills as a Jäger to good use."
"Well that doesn't inspire confidence. I thought you said you were no longer a Jäger?" Cyrus asked.
"I mean, I guess I'm not; after my dad died, I left that life behind and came here. Guess he really didn't want me to be a Jäger forever," Fie frowned, thinking of her late father.
"How'd your father die, if you don't mind me asking?" Cyrus questioned, sitting down on the steps of the train station with Fie.
"In battle against another Jäger. You'll probably know who it is, too," Fie responded, interesting Cyrus further.
"Oh? Why's that?" Cyrus queried, raising an eyebrow.
"It was the Red Constellation's leader; the War God," Fie stated.
"Really? I didn't know your father was the man known as the Jäger King. I'd heard about their fight, which lasted for about three days, killing them both, but I had no idea you were related," Cyrus nodded.
"Yup, right after that was when I got left behind by the rest of Zephyr, and I ended up coming here as a result. I can't say I hate it; at least I get to sleep as much as I want here," Fie shrugged.
"Well, if you're the daughter of the Jäger King, you must have a great level of skill, especially if you were raised in the life," Cyrus stated.
"I guess so. The first time I met Dad was after he and the rest of his group finished a job in the South. He found me, alone and starving, and instead of leaving me alone to wander, he decided to take me in and raise me as his own daughter. I don't know why, but he did; said I made him more 'human' or something," Fie explained.
"So, that's how you got into the life?" Cyrus muttered.
"Mhmm, I think Dad kinda regretted that decision, but he still did it anyway. I don't hate him for it, as it was the only life he ever knew himself. He, along with his two commanders, Leo and Xeno, taught me everything I know, and made me into the Jäger known as Sylphid," Fie added.
The moment the name 'Sylphid' passed from Fie's lips, Cyrus froze up; a cold chill snaking its way down his spine. His eyes full of horror, he turned to Fie.
"What did you just say?" Cyrus asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
"What, you mean Sylphid? Yep, that was the name I went by as a Jäger," Fie responded.
Cyrus sat there for several moments, not moving, not saying anything, trying to wrap his head around what he had just heard. Letting out a long sigh, he buried his face into his hands, letting out a single, muffled word.
"Fuck."