(A New fate and the world begins to move towards it's final end. Where will our heroes end up in all of this? Let us find out.)
Bold = English Conversations
Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations
Fate 5
Previously on Canon Distortion
Sora Minakaze, Makoto Nanaya and Caroline Patricia Smith. These three people were the only people that remained in the world when Izanami paid them a visit. If they wished to go and rescue the others that had ended up within the deep blue ball, they needed to venture forth down the 1st Free City of Otsu in order to use the cauldron there. As they make their final preparations, what kind of dangers await them the moment they step through the hallowed halls? It's time to find out.
And Now, the continuation of Canon Distortion…
The 1st Free city of Otsu, A hierarchical city that in any other timeline would have just been a part of the 9th Hierarchical city of Akitsu-Ko, A hierarchical city that dared to borrow their name from the 10th Hierarchical city of Akitsu-Otsu. Normally the city would be bustling with activity, the citizens going about their daily lives while trying to find several ways to make a quick buck that would be satisfactory for them.
Unfortunately in his current situation, silence greeted Sora and Makoto as they wondered the streets, the gravity of the current situation now looming over them. They had been told by Caroline to go and check the surroundings before meeting her in the cauldron to set off. For Makoto it had just been a few days since the NOL tried to assert their force over Otsu but for Sora, it had been a month and he was now just bearing witness to what had happened to his home town.
"So this is what happened to Otsu?" Sora questioned as the abandoned tanks of the NOL were strewn all around them. The tents that would house a whole platoon of NOL soldiers were now empty, the chairs and tables empty and the hot coffee that was to be consumed, now cold and still. The building in front of them was the former NOL building and also where the cauldron was at. "Yeah… it was quite the battlefield around here. I'm surprised that it is not more wrecked than it is currently." Makoto explained as Sora sighed and nodded his head at that.
"In any case, let's just get going and make sure the Cauldron is fine. We don't want any surprises to surprise Caroline before she gets there." Sora explained but the felt a hand be placed on his shoulder. "Before we go there. There is something we must first handle." Makoto said as Sora looked at her with some confusion on his face. It was clear on Sora's face that he just wanted to rush straight to the Cauldron, not thinking about what happened to the rest of his home town right now and focus on the task before him.
'As your girlfriend, I must do something to help you take your mind off this for now. If we go to the cauldron now and you are thinking about what has happened in Otsu you may not focus.' Makoto thought as she then thought of a good reason to divert as she looked up and down Sora's current choice of clothes. "We need to get you a proper change of clothes right now at this very instant." Makoto said with a sternness in her voice.
"A change of clothes? But why?" Sora questioned as he looked at his current choice of garments. A hastily borrowed jacket that came from Kagura's closet, a shirt that came from Kagura's closet. Pants and boots that belonged to Kagura. Basically everything that he could find in Kagura's closet that would fit him comfortably without much issue. "Because you are not going to go and save the world wearing Kagura's clothes. They are too tacky and don't really fit you at all." Makoto said as Sora tilted his head upon hearing that comment.
"Well I mean, I would like to go and get a change of clothes but I don't really see a clothing store anywhere… unless." Sora's words drifted as he and Makoto looked at the abandoned NOL tents and the obvious fact that nobody was there to watch over the gear, meaning that it was free for them to take. "I mean… they won't notice a pair of spare clothes going missing. Besides you have to admit that in terms of fashion they work in a pinch." Makoto explained as Sora scratched his head upon hearing that.
"NOL Fashion is good?" Sora questioned as Makoto chuckled upon hearing that. "At the very least, let's try to get you some new clothes. And maybe we can figure out what the NOL wanted to do here besides just the cauldron." Makoto said as Sora could understand to an extent Makoto was trying to help him get his mind away from the fact his precious home had been attacked the way it had. Rather than argue with her and make the room feel awkward, Sora couldn't help but agree with her words this time around and thus followed her to one of the tents.
"Right, let's see what we can scavenge from here." Makoto said as Sora's eyes were drawn towards the locked lockers. Checking if they were locked firstly, Sora then used his left hand to smash into them, breaking them easily and allowing Sora to see what was inside. The first thing that drew his eye was a pair of laced boots that upon closer inspection were in quite good condition. "Say Makoto. You think these boots will be…"
"Hmmm… What about these…" Makoto said as she held in her hands a pair of pants, lifting them close to her face to inspect them with a close lens. "Say Sora, do you like cargo pants or just normal pants?" Makoto questioned as Sora scratched his head. "Whatever is more comfortable if that makes sense. And it's not denim." Sora said as he couldn't help but approach Makoto at that moment as she noticed the pair of boots he held in his hands.
"Hmmm, if you are going to be wearing those boots, then you will need to wear these pants then." Makoto said, placing the pants on Sora's shoulder as she quickly went to look for more clothes for Sora to try. Sora couldn't help but feel a sense of energy come out from Makoto as she seemed rather energetic in her search for clothes to give Sora, as if she was excited from this. 'Is this what most normal couples would do on dates?' Sora thought as Makoto simply giggled a little.
'I wonder if Sora would like other colors? Seeing him wear Black and white all the time is making me think he has no sense of fashion.' Makoto thought as Sora couldn't help but wonder if Makoto was starting to get into her search for some basic clothes for him to wear. Normally at this point, he would butt in and tell her that there was no need for her to fervently search for him clothes that were suitable for him to wear and that in fact, he was alright in anything so long as it offered him decent protection from the elements around him.
Yet he found himself unable to do so, not because he was paralyzed with fear or nervous like so many fights he would have had in the past but for a completely different reason. As he managed to get a glimpse of the small smile that was forming on Makoto's face, he instinctively placed a hand on his chest and softly smiled himself. He did not say what he would normally say because to do so would be to ruin the happiness that Makoto was having right now trying to give him a pair of clothes in her own style.
"Say Sora, are you a belts man?" Makoto questioned as Sora shook his head at that. "Belts just make too much noise and are honestly impractical in my eyes. The only belt you need is the one for your pants and that's it." Sora said as he could see Makoto rack her brain upon hearing that. "That's fair but that means this jacket's a no go." Makoto said as with one hand, she chucked the jacket she had found off to the side, making the 7 belts it had rattle as it landed on the ground. Sora continued to watch as Makoto continued to search all over the place.
"You know, we don't have to limit ourselves to just this small tent. There's a clothing store just next to us we can check out if you want." Sora questioned as Makoto shook her head at that. "I don't really want to do that. It would feel bad to rob them of potential money even if there is nobody there." Makoto explained as Sora shook his head towards her. "This is Otsu, You don't have to worry about stuff like that. Besides that clothing store more than likely either stole the merchandise they are displaying or made it themselves with some black market help so there's no need to really think about morality right now." Sora explained as Makoto smiled upon hearing that.
"I know Sora… But after living a month here in Otsu myself. I just don't want to do it to them when they are away." Makoto explained as Sora decided to wait for a further explanation. "I mean… if they went through all the trouble to get those clothes then the very least as someone who has lived in Otsu I would wait for them to be in store to see me try and steal them and give them a chance to defend their merchandise. That's one of the few things I noticed Otsunians would do." Makoto explained.
"For a city comprised of only criminals, it sure does feel like there's some sort of honor system that has been put in place along with the madness. I always thought you could do whatever you want in Otsu but after living here for a month. I now realize it's you can do whatever you want but you got to respect the people around you and what they are doing. I cannot help but admire that to a degree you know."
Sora couldn't help but crack up a smile upon hearing that comment. That was probably one of the few times he has heard of someone actually talking about Otsu in a nice manner and not trying to bad mouth his home town in any way. "So after seeing Otsu with your own eyes, are you trying to say that you will move here to be with me?" Sora questioned, expecting Makoto to give him an answer like wanting to stay at Shinatsu to be closer to the folks or another hierarchical city as she would have found Otsunian life too stressful.
"You know what… I would like to live in a city like Otsu." Makoto said, enough to make Sora drop the items he was holding as Makoto turned to look at him at that moment, realizing what Sora was thinking as she grinned a little. "Oh Sora… I am not that kind of girl. I can see beyond the superficial things most people have." Makoto said as she walked up to hold Sora's left hand at that moment. "And I really do mean it. I can really see myself having a future here with you." Makoto continued as Sora couldn't help but feel his chest tighten a little upon hearing that.
"Now you are just making me blush." Sora said, scratching the back of his head as Makoto noticed the black substance from Sora's left hand drip slightly, as if to suggest that Sora was feeling a sense of embarrassment from her choice of words. "Awww, So even Black Beasts with hearts can feel embarrassed huh." Makoto commented as Sora's face turned red at that moment, enough to make the Black Beast Kevin manifest out of Sora's feet and look at the duo with some confusion on it's childlike face.
"Hey there Kevin. What brings you…" Before Makoto could finish her sentence, as her hand was extending out to rub the head of Kevin, it leaned it's head towards Makoto only to chomp down on her arm. She did not feel any kind of pain when the creature did so but before she could say another word, Kevin began to violently shake his head, causing Makoto to be ragdolled around in the process. "AAHHHGGGHHH! STOP! STOP BOY!" Makoto yelled as Sora watched the comedic scene unfold in front of him.
"...Heh." Sora simply said as he couldn't help but feel a laugh start to come out from his stomach. "Sora you bastard! Get Kevin to stop shaking me like thissss!" Makoto yelled as she used her free hand to place it on her mouth as she could feel the sense of motion sickness start to hit her. Sora couldn't help but find the scene in front of him funny as he soon broke out of a laugh all while Makoto was desperately trying to find a way to not vomit all over the floor.
It was soon at that moment, Makoto could feel the arm that Kevin bit down get released, causing her to get flung out of Kevin's grasp and making her crash into the pile of clothes that had been formed to keep track of what outfits Sora may like and dislike. Sora continued to laugh upon the sight as Kevin moved his way towards Makoto's direction as she popped her head out of the clothing pile, pants on her head in the process.
"Oh we are so going to have a few words after this." Makoto said as Kevin simply licked her face at that moment, slobbering black liquid all over her face as Makoto struggled to keep a straight face at that moment as she took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. She was going to say some more things but seeing the smile that was on Sora's face at that moment made her feel happy, even if she had to play the clown for a little bit as she cleared her throat at that moment to grab Sora's attention as she stood up from the massive clothing pile.
"Well in any other case… Kevin here is going to help us with holding the clothes as we place them on his head. And we are going to find for you some clothes that will not make you look like some hobo off the streets." Makoto said as Sora couldn't help but be confused by what he had just heard. "What do you mean by Hobo? You mean my fashion sense?" Sora questioned as Makoto shook her head upon hearing that statement.
Realizing that she will need to do a lot more to fix her boyfriend's bad fashion sense.
The Cauldron of Otsu. When the world lost it's source of seithr, all of the cauldrons in the world responded by simply sealing themselves away, unable to produce Seithr of any sort. Otsu's cauldron however did not do what the other cauldrons of the world. While the cauldron itself was not producing Seithr of any kind, the cauldron remained open, as if it is unable to close at all. Caroline herself was examining the cauldron closer to see if there was a reason it was behaving like so.
"To think that the world needs these things pumping out Seithr and now that they are closed, the world's basically regressed back to the stone age." Caroline said as she pulled out a special container that she had kept to the side. The container she had brought with her was a special device she had been using to contain the Seithr that the Rev System had been containing from Sora Minakaze. This, besides the existence of Sora himself was the only sources of Seithr that remained in the world.
"Could it be that the Seithr the Rev System has been collecting from Sora has been that high quality of Seithr? Or maybe Sora himself is a generator of Seithr?" Caroline said to herself loudly as she knew better than to focus on details that were not important for the current situation. She decided to focus her attention not on the cauldron or the Seithr that was in the container she pulled out and instead on her beloved Rev System.
The Rev System, her life's work. For the longest time she had thought that it would have been impossible for her to achieve her life's dream of discovering a way for humanity to coexist with Seithr. While Seithr was currently not present in the world, according to Kokonoe Seithr will eventually return to the world and when that comes, Caroline wanted to make sure her system was going to be capable of containing that slow rush of Seithr, finally achieving her goal of humanity's coexistence with Seithr.
"To think… that I would be able to get this far…" Caroline said as she reached out and placed her hand on her chest, feeling her chest beat gently as she thought about Sora Minakaze and what he did for a woman like her. He took her, a woman on her last legs, about to be stranded in a city well known for their criminal exploits and would have most likely used her for stuff that she wouldn't want and gave her a chance to live up to her goals.
Caroline Patricia Smith, Saved by a nobody Otsunian criminal she had never heard about. Caroline Patricia Smith, given a life that allowed her to meet people that she never imagined she could meet and gain connections that she would never imagine a lowly scientist like her would have had in the first place. Caroline Patricia Smith, able to stand tall against her greatest scientific rival, a woman who was born under the union between two Six Heroes.
Imagine to her shock that she would eventually learn about alternate timelines and how she was destined to fail this entire time, her life's work discarded and her name forgotten. Caroline shook her head when that thought came up her mind as she realized those intrusive thoughts were trying to burrow themselves into her mind as those were irrelevant to her current task which was to make sure that both her boss and his girlfriend are able to make their next journey safely.
"Hey Caroline! Are things done on your end!?" Makoto called as Caroline could hear the sounds of footsteps descending down the massive set of stairs, "As done as I can on my end. The cauldron's open but there's no Seithr coming from it. I guess that means that you should be able to still use it as long as it remains open like it is so." Caroline explained as she turned her head towards to see Makoto walk down the stairs as she had a smile on her face as wide as anybody could see.
"And what's got you in such a good mood despite our current situation?" Caroline questioned as she had figured that everyone would be more serious due to the current situation that was around them. "Oh you know, I got to see Sora dress up properly for once and it's partially my doing." Makoto said with a smile on her face at that moment. "Sora dressed up properly?" Caroline said in confusion as she turned her head to face the stairs only gasp when she saw what Sora was wearing at that moment.
Sora's signature choice of Black and silver was present but he looked much more fashionable than he ever did. His choice of black NOL approved boots and army pants matched the red worn sweater he wore. A dark grey hooded long coat helped to bring the whole look together as Sora scratched his head upon realizing that Caroline was giving him quite the staring. "Come on Caroline. I don't look that different from normal." Sora said, scratching his head with his normal hand as Caroline could see that he was wearing a black glove with white trim.
"Different from normal? That's a complete understatement in this case! Where did you even get those clothes in the first place?!" Caroline questioned as Makoto grinned. "Well you know the NOL tents outside? It turns out that they were basically grabbing stuff from the surrounding stores to use for themselves. Or maybe they were there as evidence on illegal Otsunian activity." Makoto said as Sora nodded his head upon hearing that.
"Regardless, for once boss you don't look like you live in a homeless shelter." Caroline said as Sora took a deep breath upon hearing that statement. "You too Caroline?" Sora questioned as Caroline nodded her head. "I'm sorry boss. But every single article of clothing you ever wear is either tattered or very worn down. You literally go and shop at the good will near your place." Caroline explained as Makoto looked at him when Caroline made that statement.
"What? The good will has some decent looking clothes. And I don't believe in tossing away clothes unless they are unusable." Sora explained as while Makoto admired Sora's dedication to not wasting clothes, it was not an excuse to dress up like a hobo. "When this whole mess is done, I am going to go to a clothing store and make sure you get some decent clothes to wear daily and not make yourself look like a hobo." Makoto said as Sora knew very well that there was no point in arguing with her statement and simply nodded his head at that moment.
"In that case, can we just ummm… Talk about other stuff that is not my fashion sense you two." Sora said as both Makoto and Caroline giggled upon hearing that. "Well first things first…" before Caroline could finish her statement, she immediately freaked out when she saw Kevin emerge from behind Sora to approach her. "That's the Black Beast boss made right!?" Caroline shouted as Kevin immediately retreated behind Sora, as if terrified by her loud shouting.
"Come on Caroline. There's no need to act like that to Kevin. He's not going to hurt you in any way." Sora explained as Caroline slowly approached Kevin after hearing that and that prompted Kevin to slowly approach her. It lowered it's head to show he was docile and when Caroline could feel her hand touch it's head. "Hehe… easy boy…" Caroline said with nervousness as Kevin simply looked at her with a confused look on it's face.
"Well in any case, besides Sora's fashion sense and Kevin your friendly neighborhood black beast, Do you have our equipment" Makoto questioned as Caroline, having finally relaxed, nodded her head and pulled out the equipment she had brought from her lab. "Yup! I got everything you guys will need for the journey ahead." Caroline said as she pulled out a few items for everyone to see. The first and most obvious item that both Makoto and Sora could see was the Rev System.
"First of all, The Rev Blade Mark 2 and it's new sheath." Caroline explained as she handed Sora the Rev Blade at that moment. "First of all, Don't worry about the limit to using your Astral heats. Whatever you did in that fight against Azrael, it basically unlocked the full potential of the Rev System inside the Rev Blade. I'm trying to replicate it on other Rev systems but it's not working as well right now." Caroline explained as Sora nodded his head upon hearing that.
"So I did basic maintenance for you and made sure that things are running well. I don't know if the place you guys are going to will have Seithr so I had the Reverse flow system activated already so that you can at least supply the Seithr you need via that black arm of yours." Caroline explained as Sora nodded his head at that. "Thanks Caroline, As usual you do really good work." Sora complimented as Caroline scratched the back of her head, feeling a bit sheepish upon hearing the compliment.
"Oh but that's not all I have been working on right now." Caroline said as Sora could see Caroline rummage through her bag, clearly thinking of giving him something else. "I saw that you were using a revolver and it was destroyed while you were fighting Azrael. I figured that you would want another kind of pistol that you can use." Caroline explained as Sora nodded his head at that. "I appreciate the offer Caroline but at the same time, Are you a gunsmith in the first place?" Sora questioned.
"Well I mean, I made the Rev System and Blade but at the same time, those only need to transform from an arm to a blade and doesn't involve ejecting out gunpowder. So I do understand your concern." Caroline said before a grin grew on her face. "That's why I designed the first Rev Gun! A single firing Break action pistol!" Caroline said, brandishing the weapon in front of Sora as he walked up to her to pick up the gun from her hand.
"The Rev Gun huh… How does this work?" Sora questioned as he carefully inspected the weapon for it's craftsmanship and handiwork. It was not like he did not trust the quality of her work but at the same time, this was likely Caroline's first time making a gun in the first place. "Well instead of using gunpowder to ignite and send the bullet flying, I have modified it so that it instead of Gunpowder, it just relies on the Seithr that you collect in your Rev Arm mode and eject the bullet that way." Caroline explained as Sora realized what she meant when he felt around the grip.
"With the first ever Rev Gun, it should have the punching power of an anti material rifle. You just got to aim and fire!" Caroline said as Sora flashed a look to her that told her everything that she needed to know at that moment. With a grin on her face, she pointed towards a piece of rubble as Sora transformed the Rev Blade Mark 2 to it's Arm form and attached it to his left arm. As soon as he did so, the Black mass around his arm simply receded, allowing the arm free space to do whatever he wished.
As soon as the Rev Arm Mark 2 finished forming, Sora immediately held the newly minted Rev Gun on the Rev Arm and adjusted his grip on the gun at that moment. Makoto understood what was going to happen next and stood beside Caroline and Kevin. "So I guess I just load a round and then fire?" Sora questioned as Caroline nodded her head at that moment, handing him the bullet he needed to load into the gun to fire as he took it and broke open the Gun at that moment.
He soon inserted the bullet into it's chamber and took aim at the target that was in front of him at that moment. He closed his eyes as he understood what he needed to do in order to make the weapon fire. Taking a deep breath, the only thing he feared at that moment was the new Rev Gun exploding in his grip but he had faith in Caroline's abilities and trusted what she was doing. As soon as he began to apply some seithr right on the Rev Gun itself, he could feel the Seithr flowing out of his hand right at the barrel, threatening to release all of the energy that was building at that moment.
"FIRE!" Caroline yelled as Sora knew that was his cue to shoot the bullet. Assuming a firing stance, he pulled on the trigger. The result was the Bullet flying out of the Rev Gun and destroying the target Sora was directed to shoot. The amount of kick he felt at that moment was surprisingly minimal but the damage he had caused was massive as Makoto's eyes were wide at the carnage she saw.
"Caroline. Sometimes I worry that you may have way too much free time on your hands. How on Earth did you design a gun that small that can literally make what looks to be a hole the size of a person's chest." Makoto questioned as Caroline scratched her head. "Well to be fair, I was already in the middle of designing the Rev Gun for Sora. I originally was designing it as a Flare gun but with the way Sora's been using my equipment, it was easier to retrofit to fire bullets and then make Flare bullets afterwards." Caroline explained.
"Well at the very least, you have gotten your priorities straight." Sora said as Caroline smiled upon hearing that. "Well I have to since I have such the slave driver of a boss." Caroline said as he chuckled upon hearing that statement being directed his way. "You make it sound like that I am breaking your equipment all the time." Sora said as Makoto giggled upon hearing that. "Well with the way you fight, I had to build all of your equipment to be extremely durable." Caroline complained as Sora nodded his head even more.
"Well in any other case, I will put to good use the Rev Gun you have just given me and make sure it doesn't get destroyed." Sora promised as Caroline rubbed her nose upon hearing that comment. "Well now that you put it to words, I now have to make sure that whatever I give you next is twice no thrice as durable!" Caroline said as Makoto nodded her head upon hearing that statement. "So how are we going to open the cauldron? We don't really have any Seithr to do so…" Makoto questioned as Caroline nodded her head upon hearing that.
"Well I did bring this canister. It has some of the Seithr that Sora would collect via the Rev Blade. For whatever reason, when the World's seithr vanished, this was the only Seithr that did not." Caroline explained, revealing to everyone the container that contained Seithr in it's purest form, a gaseous azure blue light that was forced to press on each other due to the tightness of the container that held in it.
"Man...So this is what Seithr looks like this close together." Makoto commented as Caroline placed the container down on the ground for Sora and Makoto to pick up and examine closer. "Indeed it is. And thanks to the Rev System we have managed to keep what is left of the World's Seithr in this little container. An Irony if you ask me." Caroline said as another thought came up their minds at that moment.
"So how are we going to get this canister to the cauldron? And would this be enough Seithr to even get the cauldron to open up for us?" Makoto questioned as Sora scratched his head and knew what had to be done to find out. "Alright. Kevin. Give this your best toss." Sora said as Kevin nodded it's head, Sora placing the canister on the jaws of this beast as Sora took a deep breath while loading a bullet into the rev gun, pointing it towards the opening of the cauldron.
Closing his eyes, Sora began to focus on his next shot while the Black beast beside him readied to toss the canister as hard as it could towards the Cauldron. The women watched as they knew the amount of focus that would be required to get this shot right. They were nowhere near close enough to just casually open the Canister at the cauldron itself thus why Sora chose the method he was employing at that moment.
"NOW!" As soon as Sora yelled out his command, Kevin the Black Beast tossed the Canister as hard as it could towards the Cauldron. Sora opened his eyes at that moment to get a glance of the canister flying in the air and focused on landing his next shot. The Seithr he focused onto the Rev Gun grew as the women at the side could see what looked to be an ars magus circle form at the barrel of the gun. Their eyes widened upon seeing such a sight as Sora was not thinking about what he was doing and was simply focused on firing his next shot.
When he pulled on the trigger of the Rev Gun, a massive wave of Black energy came jutting out of the barrel, a laser as big as the barrel itself leaving out of the gun, piercing the canister in the process. As soon as that occurred, the Seithr that was released out into the seithrless world surged right into the empty cauldron. Everyone waited with bated breath for what was going to happen next, unsure if they should run or hide at that very moment.
Then, as if witnessing the birth of life itself, the seithr that was released from the canister brought life back to the still Cauldron. It's wings spread wide and a bright blue light bathed everyone in the room at that moment, Sora could feel his body become stronger from this light as Makoto and Caroline could feel a gentle warmth come their way. Kevin at that moment jumped around excitedly, as if it was finally in a comfortable environment.
"And to think, Such a tiny amount of Seithr was able to bring the cauldron back to life." Makoto remarked as Sora nodded his head upon hearing that. The first step they needed to achieve, activating Otsu's cauldron was complete. Now they just need to jump through it's blue light and walk through the underworld itself as Izanami described it. "Well Makoto… Are you ready to go venturing to hell?" Sora questioned as Makoto looked at her prosthetic arm and nodded her head at that moment.
"Wait a minute you guys!" Caroline said as she rummaged through her bag as soon as she heard Sora say that. "I figured that I should give you two a way to communicate with each other and me when you guys go through the Cauldron. If you guys are really going to be in that blue orb in the sky the least you guys can have is a way to talk to each other." Caroline said as both Sora and Makoto looked at each other before nodding their heads at that.
"Talk about being considerate for us Caroline. Thanks a lot." Makoto said as she and Sora approached Caroline as she used an ars magus spell to implant the communication Ars magus on their ears. "There you go. Give it a try you guys." Caroline requested as both Sora and Makoto raised their respective normal hands to their ears, activating the communication Ars Magus and allowing them to hear static crackle on their ears. Caroline did the same with her own communication Ars Magus at that moment.
"Do you guys hear this?" Caroline whispered as both Sora and Makoto's eyes widened greatly. It was a simple whisper, even normal communication methods would struggle with such a thing as Caroline took their surprised reactions to being that they could. "Hehehe, I decided to modify the normal communication ars magus used and instead changed it so that it's a small vibration ars magus. You are hearing me because I am vibrating the bones on your skull." Caroline explained as Makoto nodded her head at that.
"I see, Isn't the NOL trying to do what you just said with current Ars Magus studies?" Makoto asked. "They are. In fact, that's where I got this ars magus. The thing is, they wanted to do visual communication as well so it was taking them much longer to do so. I just cut out that part and fully focused on the audio part only." Caroline explained as Sora nodded his head upon hearing that. "Regardless, this is much more secure to communicate with than using phones. Speaking of which, how is the bank account holding?" Sora questioned.
"The Bank account's fine. Makoto's the current owner of the account so the money should still be there. She also added me as a secondary holder so if we have any weird altering situations, at least the money's not evaporating. And don't worry, it's only in name, I don't actually have access to your money as much as I would like to." Caroline explained as Sora nodded his head yet again, satisfied with what he was hearing at that moment.
"That's good to hear. If I have to guess, that means that nobody else can wiretap our communications as well?" Sora questioned as Caroline nodded. "Secure tight. Anything you guys say will not be heard even with mind reading ars magus. The only way they can hear us is if they have the communication Ars magus themselves." Caroline explained as Makoto had an idea. "Do you think you can teach us the formula? Or even write it down?" Makoto questioned as Sora and Caroline realized what she was thinking.
"Sure Makoto. I'll give you the magic formula so that you can do it yourself." Caroline explained as Makoto smiled as both women exchanged the details to cast the ars magus. Sora smiled at this exchange as he turned his head towards the cauldron and noticed Kevin looking at the massive cauldron, it's interest in it making it interesting for Sora to see. "Do you feel an attraction towards this cauldron?" Sora questioned the Black beast, understanding it could not speak even if he wanted to know truthfully.
Kevin turned it's head towards him before simply nodding. Kevin then moved it's way towards the cauldron, wanting to go inside it as Sora could see it behaving like a loyal dog, waiting for it's owner. "Don't worry Kevin, we are going to go in soon. So why don't you come back." Sora said as he took out the Rev Arm, allowing his blackened left arm to manifest. Kevin upon seeing this sight excitedly dashed towards Sora, jumping towards Sora as he raised his left hand to the Black beast.
As soon as it touched his hand, the Black Beast easily and comfortably allowed itself to be absorbed into the left hand without resistance. Sora immediately tensed his left hand after the Black beast completely disappeared, checking to see if the feeling in his hand was still there. "Are you done Makoto? Let's get going." Sora said as Makoto immediately ran and stood by his side. "Just finished Sora. Are you ready to jump into a cauldron and see where it spits us out?" Makoto asked back as Sora nodded his head at that.
"Alright, I will do my best to support you both back at Yabiko. I was never much of a fighter so there's no need for me to get involved in the frontlines." Caroline said as both Sora and Makoto nodded their heads upon hearing that. "Alright Caroline. You stay safe over there." Makoto said as Sora nodded his head upon hearing that. "You two as well. We don't know what kind of hell Izanami was talking about but it's not going to be pleasant if I have to guess." Caroline said before taking off quickly, understanding that the longer she stayed at the area, the longer she was risking getting sucked into a situation where she was going to die.
"You think Caroline's going to be alright on her own?" Makoto questioned as Sora watched as Caroline ascended up the stairs, slightly out of breath due to always being inside her lab working. "Yeah she will be fine. She's always been more of an indoor person rather than an outdoors person." Sora answered as Makoto smiled at that consideration. "Well in any other case, we have to go and see what that blue ball has in store for us." Makoto said, gently holding his right hand as Sora could feel her warmth pulse through his hand at that moment.
"Yeah, let's get going… together this time." Sora said as he had to admit, he would have felt a sense of nervousness jumping through a second cauldron in his life. Would he die when enters a cauldron? His nature as a Black Beast should prevent such things from happening but at the same time, that would never erase the nervousness he would feel deep inside his heart. But at the very least, he was going to be heading to another cauldron with his beloved girlfriend as they both gave each other a kiss at that moment to solidify what they were going to do next.
...Jumping into Hell itself…
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? I HOPE IT IS GOOD BECAUSE IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF IT'S NOT A GOOD DAY! Well in other news, my life has been rather normal. Getting back into the swing of living a normal life again without needing to wear a mask to go around the place 24/7 while also keeping healthy at the same time to avoid another global pandemic. At the very least, 2023 for the first time in what feels like years an actually good year in general.
SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!? WHAT WILL COME THE WAY OF SORA MINAKAZE AND MAKOTO NANAYA!? WILL THE WORLD CONSPIRE TO TRY AND SEPARATE THEM AGAIN!? AND IF SO HOW WILL THE WORLD DO SO!? AND FINALLY, WHAT AWAITS OUR TWO HEROES IN THEIR JOURNEY OF HELL!? Well now, let us wait for the next part of this saga to see what happens next to our beloved heroes.