CHAPTER 32: ALWAYS HANDLE WITH CARE
TOWER 2
The large, square chamber ahead seemed to be designed for containing and studying Phantoms. Enormous boxes were propped up on top of each other along every wall, along with heavy equipment for removing said containers. Five crates were spread all over the room in an unnatural way, as if scattered by a careless and gigantic child.
"Well, I guess these are where the Phantoms are coming from," Deuce said.
"And that's just the tip of the iceberg," Jamil seconded. "I can't begin to imagine how many Phantoms are in this facility total."
A holographic Ortho appeared, making the trio jump. "There are roughly fifteen-thousand, seven hundred and twenty-five!" he announced. "Not counting the special Phantoms preserved in Tartarus, of course."
"Ortho this time? Where's your precious brother?" Leona asked.
"Idia is busy right now," Ortho said. "So you'll have to deal with me! I've got a fun challenge for you three." He pointed to an elevator on the other side of the room. "That elevator is the next step down, but it requires a specific ID card. I've hidden the card inside one of these five crates! But each one also has a Phantom inside, so be careful!"
"Doesn't sound too hard," Deuce said confidently.
"Oh, and Arin Warson is also inside the same crate," Ortho added. He snickered evilly. "You should hurry up and save the civilian! If you can." With that, he disappeared.
"Arin Warson? That's the researcher who had a leash on me during those dumb tests," Leona growled.
"All the same, we can't let Arin be devoured by Phantoms," Jamil said. "You should be able to confront him yourself."
"But how?" Deuce blanched, staring at the crates. "These all look the same!"
"I've got this. Follow me," Leona whispered. He crept up to each crate, putting his ear up to it. At the third, he gestured for the other two to stay in place.
"I hear two types of breathing—one human, one animal," he said. "When I open up this door, you two will attack the Phantom inside, got it?"
"Yes, we got it!" Deuce shouted.
"Not so loud…" Jamil said.
Leona cracked open the lock with a quick cosmic spell, moving backwards as he swung the door open. Inside was a redheaded man with a pinkish face, huddled in one corner. In the other corner was a large, leonine Phantom with a glass cylinder for a body and feline features sculpted from blot. It opened its glowing eyes, and a mane of fire appeared around its face. With a roar, it crouched to spring, but Arin himself was in its path.
"Oh no!" Jamil cried. "Barrier—"
"I got it!" Deuce raced forward, pen at the ready. With his dizzying speed, he put himself between Arin and the Phantom, and used a fire spell to keep the monster at bay. The Phantom roared, stepping out of its crouch, but Deuce's attack wasn't enough to destroy it.
"Aqua Blast!" Jamil sprinted ahead, the water from his pen lashing out like a whip. The spell flowed past Deuce and Arin, attacking the Phantom with the strength and precision of a fire hose. The glass broke, and the beastly Phantom dissolved away with fading cries. Jamil straightened up and caught his breath with an excited exhilaration. Running ahead like that, using his full power without having to hide it, the satisfaction of seeing his enemy destroyed… it felt amazing!
Leona moved around the crate door. "What's with you, Jamil?" he asked teasingly. "You have a weird evil grin on your face."
"Oh, uh…" Jamil smoothed out his features. "Anyway, it seems that Arin is safe. But Deuce, you shouldn't have ran ahead like that."
"Sorry," Deuce said. "Before I knew it, my feet just started to move, and…" He glanced at the man he was still protecting. "Mr. Warson?" he asked.
"A-Ah…" Arin blinked, staring worriedly at the three mages that were surrounding him. "So it's you three…"
"Hey, Arin," Leona said dryly. "Doesn't feel fun on the other side of the test, does it?"
"I… listen, back then, I was just doing my job," Arin said defensively. He got to his feet, but he wasn't quite as tall as the trio of students. "This is completely disastrous! Bad enough that Ortho has gone rogue, but then he had the Charons dump me in a container with a sleeping Phantom—something about some game."
"Yeah, it seems like Ortho sees us as players in a game," Deuce explained. "And he sees you as some NPC… no offense."
"NPC!" Arin scoffed. "I'm having a word with both the Shrouds next time I see them!"
"Yeah, like that would do anything. Don't you have magic of your own?" Leona said. "You guys should be helping us fight the Phantoms, not huddling up and waiting for rescue."
"None of us are mages aside from the Shrouds," Arin explained. "Having no magic means that blot can't affect us, which is good since we work with it all day. And we do have weapons against Phantoms, but Ortho shut them all down…"
"That makes sense," Jamil said. "Ortho also mentioned an ID card for the elevator. Do you have it?"
"Huh, so that's what Ortho put in my pocket," Arin noted. He pulled out a golden keycard from his pocket, and after a beat of hesitation, gave it to Leona. "I'm normally more useful than this, but that's all I can do."
"That's more than enough, sir," Deuce assured. "You should go back upstairs. It's dangerous down there!"
"But what if he gets attacked? There could still be Phantoms on the upper levels," Jamil said worriedly.
The holographic Ortho appeared. "Dun-dun-dun-duuuuuuun!" he sang. "You beat the level and saved the civilian! Congratulations! And don't worry, I'll make sure Arin Warson gets back to Styx safely."
"That's the least you can do for me, you little brat!" Arin fumed. "When your parents hear about this, they'll—"
"Bye, heroes! See you downstairs!" Ortho waved and then vanished, much to Arin's fury.
"Let it go," Leona said. "Just stay out of our way, and we'll take care of your little kings of the Underworld."
Arin huffed. "Alright," he said. "Good luck to you three… and thank you." With a defeated sigh, the hotheaded researcher turned and went upstairs.
"Finally, thought that guy would never leave," Leona said. He approached the elevator and used the new ID card to open the doors.
"Who? Arin or Ortho?" Deuce asked, following Jamil into the elevator.
"Both," Leona griped.
"This whole scheme is out-of-character," Jamil said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Idia could be overblotting, and repurposed Ortho to follow his plans."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Leona said as the doors closed over the trio.
"You guys were all taking tests on blot, right? Did you figure out what caused it all?" Deuce asked.
"No idea… but we may find out soon," Jamil guessed.
The elevator took the three unlikely heroes deeper into the Underworld.
Author's Note: Because Kalim promised Jamil freedom when he becomes head Asim, Jamil is notably less bitter than his canon counterpart. Though he and Leona will still have a heart-to-heart later.
