"Okay then," Hinata said. For one of the first times the entire time they have been there, Katsuo spoke up.
You're not gonna see what they're talking about?
Why would I? I trust them, and it's their business.
But, what if it's important?
It's their call, Katsuo. You can follow if you want, but if you get in trouble I'm not covering for you. Katsuo said his thanks, appearing for a moment before slipping after them.
Tatsuo, eventually relaxed into the hug, realizing he'd probably be stuck like this for a while.
Hinata turned to Chris, rolling her eyes slightly at the two.
"It seems like everyone's chomping at the bit for relationships these days," she commented, chuckling.
The eyeless figure turned a bit to the right before he answered with the words:
”To purify you…” as the figure said that, they summoned what looked like a book of magic and started to cast something on Kye and the demon inside his body. As the spell finished, golden ribbons with ancient texts written on them appeared from the ground and tied Kye’s body up. Another set of them appeared by the figure, rushing at Kye and attempted to pull Gelion out.
Panic exploded in Kye and a purple barrier appeared in a thin layer around his body. Then it expanded pushing the golden ribbons away from around him and not allowing the others to get to him. Once he was back on the ground he leaped forward grabbed his dagger and jumped back away from the figure a good solid thirty yards. "Sir, I do not think you understand. If you pull Gelion out of me you will kill us both. Please reconsider and leave us alone. I do not need to be purified, as it was my choice to have him in the first place."
Since the fox brothers were quite focused on their conversation, none of them noticed Katsuo.
”So… you guys know Julian, right? That Viscount who’s keep Matthew trapped here?” the wood fox asked the rest of his family. They all nodded.
”Well… if we can kill that man… we can theoretically get closer to freeing Matt… right?” Shinrin raised a brow as he said it.
”Still, we can’t do that alone… we aren’t strong enough…” the fire fox argued with a calm tone.
”Kori?” the wood fox turned to icy fox as he nodded.
”Why do you think I invited Hinata to follow us…?” Kori brought up with a confident and slightly sinister smile.
”Now, before we can let her in on this… we need to lay out the first part before hand” the wood fox ended with a nod as he and the thunderous fox walked away from the building.
The ice fox and fire fox remained in front of the building.
”You sure she’s gonna cooperate though?”. Kasai asked.
”I’ll tell her that it’s for Matthew, trust me… she’ll understand” Kori reassured with a small laugh.
.
.
.
Soon Serena let go of Tatsuo and went back to Chris. She held her hands up in front of Chris as the tall scientist leaned down, picked her, and let her sit on his shoulder.
”You wanna go check on what I’m working on Hinata?” the little girl scientist asked with glittering eyes.
The figure opened their spell book again.
”There is no such thing as a good demon in this world… all demons deserve to be… purified” the figure said as the golden ribbons appeared again, this time they were thicker, faster, and had definitely increased in numbers. They rushed Kye again…
The ribbons were cut before they reached Kye and his demonic mate.
”I don’t think I can allow that mate” a slightly familiar voice came from in front of Kye; it was Carlsen. He had a battle axe at hand while his other hand was up in blue and purple flames.
”You two alright?” he asked without turning back, referring to Kye and Gelion together.
Katsuo listened quietly, growing angry. So, they were gonna use Hinata? He slipped away, returning to Hinata's side, and then her mind. Hinata sensed his mindset, not letting anything show as she nodded to Serena.
"Sounds good to me," she said. Tatsuo, as soon as Serena let go, made his way over to Hinata, disappearing as well.
What's wrong? Hinata asked Katsuo. Katsuo, in response, showed her his memories of what had just happened.
I told you we can't trust anyone here! They're just trying to use you, like everyone else! Hinata didn't respond, thinking over what she had just seen. What Kori had said was right- she did want to help Matthew. However, she also didn't know what the ramifications would be if she helped to kill the Viscount. She had to push aside her own feelings to analyze the situation, weighing the different possibilities.
Kye gave Carlsen a nod before turning back to his attacker. "Sir, there may not be such thing as a good demon on this world, but if you had not noticed I am not from this side of the galaxy. I would advise you not continue this attack, you are likely to get injured."
The path Jade chose to walk was empty and led to another hallway, one that was decorated with metallic walls and rusty metallic floors. There wasn’t much to note about the hallway other than the fact that it was made almost completely of metal.
Jade had been confused as to why it was so bare but she still continued her path
Adara raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. She looked around the room, all escape plans forgotten. It was stranger than any place she had ever been in.
The two foxes; Kasai and Kori, came back in. Both laughing jokingly at each other as if they had just made a great joke.
Serena smiled when Hinata agreed and looked to Chris.
”Lead the way mister Crow~” the little scientist said as the taller one shook his head with a small muffled chuckle.
As Hinata would follow the crow scientist, the foxes followed her. They, especially Kori, sensed something from Hinata but that would probably be best if they brought it up later… when they were alone and when Matthew wasn’t present.
As they stepped into Serena’s and Chris’ lab, Hinata might be amazed by the amount of paperwork that were around. Stacks on stacks on stacks of papers were scattered across the room.
”Damn AC… hey Hinata, and you foxes, can you help us clean this up real quick?” Chris asked as he let Serena down on her own.
(Organize Serena’s table?)
(Organize Chris’ table?)
(Organize the Papers on the Floor by the door?)
(Organize the Papers on the Floor across the door?)
Carlsen, with a blank expression, disappeared into thin air, appearing again behind the mage-like figure. Without hesitation, he used his battle axe to slice the figure in half from the leg up and across his skull. His face was merciless, a blank slate with redness glowing in his eyes. The cut figure laid motionless on the ground.
”Here’s what happens when you mess with my brother… moron…” he knelt down and whispered to the dead mage before standing up straight, walking back to Kye.
”Can you… uh… release him?” he had pointed to the purple bubble Aisen was in.
The more Jade wandered in the metallic hallway, the rustier it had gotten. There were also sounds of sparks coming from random angles around her to which was shown exactly where it was coming from when a figure appeared beside her and shocked her with a high voltage.
Matthew sighed again before he turned to Adara and gestured towards the figure who caused the problem.
”That man is Atlas Nu, a Dimensional Architect, you might have seen pictures of him in historical places as he’s quite famous… but a bit wacky” the Nature’s Messenger introduced as the man in the middle of the building nodded and gave Adara a quick bow.
”Pleasure to meet you”
"Sure," Hinata said. Seeing as she was right there, she decided to begin with the papers on the floor by the door. Tatsuo was still complaining loudly about what the foxes were doing, but Hinata was mostly ignoring him. She understood their reasoning, and she wasn't about to judge them for wanting to set Matthew free. She wanted that too. Still, she was a bit upset about them not just asking her to help them. She didn't glance at them, though, and really didn't give any outward sign of what she was thinking about.
The papers by the door were of research projects of the Knights; specifically the twelfth generation or Matthew’s and Cassius’ generation. There were about a hundred or something pages around but it was going to be worth scanning through…
(Read through parts of it?)
(Just organize it normally?)
"Who?" Adara asked. "I usually just burn…" she trailed off, hoping they didn't notice what she had just said. "Um… hi? What did you say he was?" Then, it clicked. "Oh! You mean that stupid Earth legend or whatever about holding up the sky? Or do I have the wrong person?"
Hinata's thoughts were pushed aside when she saw the subject of the papers she was cleaning up. She found herself occasionally reading snippets of information without realizing it, continuing to clean up the entire time. Especially whenever she saw names she recognized.
The more Jade wandered in the metallic hallway, the rustier it had gotten. There were also sounds of sparks coming from random angles around her to which was shown exactly where it was coming from when a figure appeared beside her and shocked her with a high voltage.
Jade squeaked then jumped away and ran a little ways away before stopping and looking at the figure with wide eyes full of shock
Carlsen, with a blank expression, disappeared into thin air, appearing again behind the mage-like figure. Without hesitation, he used his battle axe to slice the figure in half from the leg up and across his skull. His face was merciless, a blank slate with redness glowing in his eyes. The cut figure laid motionless on the ground.
”Here’s what happens when you mess with my brother… moron…” he knelt down and whispered to the dead mage before standing up straight, walking back to Kye.
”Can you… uh… release him?” he had pointed to the purple bubble Aisen was in.
The sphere around Aisen disappeared but Kye was staring at what just happened. "Holy Shit! What did you just do?"
”You’ve got that part right, yeah… Earth can be a bit weird” Atlas answered before snapping his fingers and summon a glowing blue cube about half the size of him. He sat on the cube as it travelled towards Adara and Matthew. When he arrived, he stood up from the cube as it disappeared.
”What are you doing here anyways?” Atlas asked, tilting his head slightly.
The documents she might come across stated this:
”To ensure that none of them will leave the Labyrinth, they have all been paired with a Viscount who has control over their area of movement. In order for the Knights to be free of the Viscounts’ control, one of three conditions must be met…
One, the Viscount must be killed or die of an unknown reason
Two, a visitor was able to recover the broken memories of the Knight
Three, the Knight was invited to work for either Heaven, Hell, or the Multiverse”
She was able to read up to there before Chris walked up to her and picked up the pile.
”Thank you” he said once through his crow mask.
The messy blonde haired man smiled when Jade jumped back.
”What’s the matter, did I shock you?” the figure asked with a smirk before they jumped straight at Jade again, attempting to do the same thing for a second time.
Carlsen stared at Kye, he did not answer just yet. He went over to Aisen and healed his brother using the same method as when he helped Kye up.
”My battle style is a quick one—“ he finally said ”—requires a lot of patience, precision, and with perfect execution as well” he added, one hand still on his battle axe.
”I’m not usually a merciless person… but whoever hurts my brothers… all deserve to die” he ended abruptly when Aisen opened his eyes. When Carlsen saw this, he slowly helped his brother up.
Aisen smiled a bit then turned to Kye.
”Thanks for the bubble”
"You're welcome," Hinata said with a smile, straightening up. What she had just read… It was really helpful, especially after hearing about what the foxes were trying to get her to do. It was all very intriguing, and definitely with taking into consideration.
When the crow scientist finished rearranging everything, he set them on his desk and Serena’s respectively.
”About what I’m researching about—“ Serena brought up as she picked up a handful of papers from her desk. She showed them to Hinata. The topic was of breaking the limits of the Knights regarding their abilities in fighting. A selected few were given the dose of magic infused chemicals; namely one named Carlsen, one named Inari, one named Sorsha, and one named Asher.
Hinata skimmed through, good at reading fast.
"Oh wow. This is really interesting- what have the results been so far?"
Carlsen stared at Kye, he did not answer just yet. He went over to Aisen and healed his brother using the same method as when he helped Kye up.
”My battle style is a quick one—“ he finally said ”—requires a lot of patience, precision, and with perfect execution as well” he added, one hand still on his battle axe.
”I’m not usually a merciless person… but whoever hurts my brothers… all deserve to die” he ended abruptly when Aisen opened his eyes. When Carlsen saw this, he slowly helped his brother up.
Aisen smiled a bit then turned to Kye.
”Thanks for the bubble”
Kye ignored Aisen's gratitude and turned on Carlsen. "I appreciate the help, and I am glad your brother is okay, but there are ways to handle a situation and that was one of the worst. Why do you all resort to violence when anyone does anything? I got here and was attacked maybe five minutes in. Do you have some sort of kill count that you are trying to meet?" He snapped looking between the two people. "I am willing to accept you attacking me, fine whatever it happens everywhere I go, but if you want my help with someone, the pointless slaughtering has to stop."
Serena laughed nervously before starting…
”Well… for Carlsen, whose ability focuses on physical attacks, his results have been extremely satisfying as his abilities have increased a lot. He’s gone a bit more bloodthirsty though” she stated before moving on…
”Inari, whose abilities are also physical attack-based, her results lack satisfying changes. Though stronger and more destructive, her abilities have also decreased in accuracy which is not a great thing” she turned to Chris to let him explain the other two:
”Sorsha’s abilities are a mix between magic and physical. Her results have been satisfying to a degree as she’s now able to use her abilities which less drawbacks. Lastly, Asher, whose abilities are magic-based, his results have been… questionable. Though more aggressive and dangerous, he’s also suffering from chemical and magical drawbacks which are unknown of cause” the Crow scientist explained with a slight sigh at the end.
(These results are worth noting, just sayin’ :/)
Carlsen eyed Kye a bit, his eyes turning from a calm blue to a dangerous crimson color.
”And who are you to say? A broken child whose family left alone in the dark? A host to a helpless demon parasite who can’t even sustain a physical body? A modern-day version of a hopeless caveman who lacks experience and knowledge of the multiverse? If you think what you and demon friend know are enough to make it through this realm, think again—“ the Knight stopped and turned away before turning back to Kye one last time ”—I’ll say this once and I really hope you’ll remember this… the Labyrinth locals are ready to kill anyone at anytime, if you hate violence and the courage to kill, you’re going to fall prey to everyone here” he said before a pair of aura-created wings sprouted from his back, taking him and the brother in his arms away from Kye.
There was really nowhere for Kye to go except for the three buildings around.
(Go to the Research Building?)
(Go to the Celestial Hall?)
(Go to the Soul Gardens?)
Carlsen eyed Kye a bit, his eyes turning from a calm blue to a dangerous crimson color.
”And who are you to say? A broken child whose family left alone in the dark? A host to a helpless demon parasite who can’t even sustain a physical body? A modern-day version of a hopeless caveman who lacks experience and knowledge of the multiverse? If you think what you and demon friend know are enough to make it through this realm, think again—“ the Knight stopped and turned away before turning back to Kye one last time ”—I’ll say this once and I really hope you’ll remember this… the Labyrinth locals are ready to kill anyone at anytime, if you hate violence and the courage to kill, you’re going to fall prey to everyone here” he said before a pair of aura-created wings sprouted from his back, taking him and the brother in his arms away from Kye.
There was really nowhere for Kye to go except for the three buildings around.
(Go to the Research Building?)
(Go to the Celestial Hall?)
(Go to the Soul Gardens?)
Kye stayed where he was for a long moment before turning to look around. "Well he was not lying when he told me about this place."
Did he just say you lack experience and knowledge?????!!!!!
Yes.
And did he also just call you a kid?!
He did that as well.
And did he call me a parasite???!?!?
Calm thyself.
Calm?! CALM??? That man has no clue what he's talking about and clearly is the one who actually lacks knowledge of the multiverse. Because if he did know anything about it he would know that I out rank him by a long shot and the reason I have a host is not because I can't sustain a body of my own. NO, no it is because I choose to learn like everyone else does. AS FOR THE HELPLESS PART!!!!! If I wanted to I could sneeze in his direction and he would be incinerated. I don't do that because it could hurt others. I unlike most other beings like me, have a heart and actually care about things. If you run into that blithering, spineless, whelp of a "knight" I will have a few words for him and they will not be PLEASANT!
….. Okay, three things. One, anger, rage and hatred will get you nowhere. Two, he may not know anything about you, but he may be wiser than me when it comes to the multiverse. Be fair I know what I have seen and taken time to learn about, and I know what you have told me. I am not all knowing about it. Three, since when have you had all this power?
Since always.
And you just found it unimportant to tell me?
You can only use some of these powers. You have only learned the basics kid, give it a few more years and some dedication. You'll get there.
Kye sighed and looked around, surprisingly calm even after what Carlsen had said about his family. If he knew anything about what had actually happened, he would probably have a different opinion. After a bit he decided to head towards what was apparently the research building.
(Okay, what Gelion just went on a rant about was perfect for Carlsen’s ability, thank you!! And I mean that seriously)
As Kye headed towards the white building, he would pass by two figures; one was a short male with black hair and green eyes, the other was a tall male with blonde hair and blue eyes. Despite their height difference, they looked identical. They both had fox-like ears and fluffy looking tails and were talking about… chess?
”So the Knight can move in L’s, right? Meaning that during that game if you were to move right three spaces with the Bishop you would’ve checkmated, but you didn’t so—“ the shorter man said with gestures before shrugging as the tall one facepalmed himself with a small laugh.
”Argh, you know I’m not good at the game. Still, didn’t you think that I did a decent job?” the taller one asked.
”Good job for a beginner I guess” the shorter one gave the tall one a thumbs up. This was the time they walked pass Kye.
The cube fascinated Adara for some reason. She watched it as he neared, although when it disappeared, she pouted slightly. She had to rewind what he had said in order to answer. "Um… he's just showing me around," she said, pointing at Matthew. "That's it."
