Rip!
Sayan's eyes eagerly stared at the opening he made in Takira's clothes, his inner man finally sensing an antidote to fill in the hole left behind by his dead lover, Claira. '
Ah, haha, yes. She looks just like Claira. I could have kept her as a slave, alive but sad. But I wouldn't want to see my Claira sad. And since I have eliminated the Eolum Hon of legend, I know I'll have no chances of survival. This night might be my last. I might as well enjoy everything insane and illicit while my heart still beats and blood still flows. Ack! What's this? Am I dizzy? Why's my head suddenly so light… I feel…. I….
'
Sayan's head floated above his head for a second before falling back down with a splat as his blood struck Takira's clothes. His limp body fell down next, leaking blood from the stump where the necromancer's head used to be connected to his body. Takira ignored the onslaught of Sayan's blood drenching her shoes in the sticky wine of his life essence.
Looking up, Takira and Miyura were speechless.
They saw a familiar silhouette.
"
W-WAANNN
!" Takira hugged him tightly, releasing all her stress and sadness at once, bawling like a child. Her friend Miyura followed.
He was used to this. Living a life of a hero meant he had to face many tragedies. Being an emotionless human statue seemed to be the best idea. He observed the surroundings, taking in clues and passively preparing for possible incidents that might occur within the next few minutes.
"
Miyura,
" Wan called out. "
If you wish to live again, take your friend with you. Here, this is a portal seed. You know how to use it?
"
The brown-haired girl silently nodded, ignoring the fact that he knew her name despite this being their first-ever encounter, confused between mixed emotions.
"
Fine then, open a portal to your house and take Takira with you. Don't talk to anyone about this. And to anyone who persistently asks you about me, don't say anything. At the worst case, tell them I'm Masayoshi. Do not use any other names. And Takira
," Wan ran a hand through her hair, amazed in his mind by how soft and silky it was. "
I'm… I'm sorry for your loss. If there's still time, I'll see if he can be revived. Put on your faith on your God and pray
."
Wan Jinju gestured at Miyumi to begin.
"
Hurry
," he kept his voice low and calm, despite his pattern-reading analysis already sending his mental warnings that this place was about to become much worse. He gently pushed Takira away. "
Sorry. This place is not safe for you two. I have to stay back and finish some tasks. Listen to me, and you'll live. Go
!"
Takira nodded, wiping away her tears and clutching the dented part of her clothing as she stepped through the portal summoned by Miyura.
Good thing that Dor son of a gun carried extra portal seeds. My own supply has run out.
With them gone, Wan slowly turned around to see the turtle extend out one of its limbs as a way of saying "high-5". Wan folded his hand into a fist as he tapped one of Pathor's toes. The alien turtle's armored mouthparts seemed to resemble a natural smile.
"Good boy."
His eyes drifted towards a crater-like gash on one of the cavern's walls where Sayan's death knight's undead corpse now rested in peace.
Wan grabbed some more Spark out of his pocket, turning it into a octahedron-shaped levitating magical device that scanned Hon Eolum's body before compressing and storing it inside.
My apologies, old man. But karma is karma, I guess. Could've kept an eye on you more securely if only you had given me some extra guidance at that Himalayan trip.
Wan sheathed his katana.
Now he returned back to where the blue-haired necromancer lay dead in his dreams. His ammolite dagger was still gripped tightly by his subconscious hand. Wan picked it up, prying it out of muscles too tough too early for rigor mortis to take effect.
Ah, there we go~ Look at this beauty. What should I name ya? Hmmm…. Death Coil.
Wan slid it into a spare sheath inside his robe, reserved for knives. Right next to Evil Fate.
Wan Jinju looked around his surroundings, waiting for what he anticipated to occur. But all he saw, heard or smelled was a cavern devoid of life except for him, Pathor and the numerous insignificant critters of the habitat.
"
Azgerdos
!" he tried to open a portal back to Lasagna. But nothing happened.
"
Azgerdos!
" he attempted again, aiming for the Hon mansion just a hundred meters above him. That didn't work either.
Curious… Never in my life have I seen someone block out teleportation spells before. Wan's eyebrows constricted. Whoever you are, you're good. Really good. A heightened level of magical manipulation that could only be attributed to none other than…
Six portals appeared all around the cavern. Out stepped men and women dressed in the uniforms of a guild too suspiciously prepared and well-armed during the party incident than could be taken as a coincidence.
"
Thozor Casio
," Wan identified the blonde posh man cheerfully entering.
"
Ah, have we met before
?" the Arkain guildmaster crossed his arms, with one forearm lifted up for his hand to touch his chin in a thinking pose. "
Mmm, that shouldn't matter. I am going to ignore the fact that you were present at the mansion for that intruder to almost assassinate Mr Hon. And also the fact that you had been the prime suspect for wreaking havoc on his property that includes but is not limited to… acts of terrorism
."
"
Alright, listen, Mr Thozor, I don't have time for this
," Wan put a hand over his sword sheath, with his other hand combing his hair bangs back into shape. "
I'd need you to confirm two things for me.
"
He saw the number of Arkain members outnumbering him by twelve to one, taking turns in looking up at the turtle monster and Wan Jinju.
"
And they are?
"
"
First, tell me about the blood moon outside. Is it still going on? Are the vampire monsters still flying around?
"
"
Negative
," one of the Arkains answered on behalf of their boss. "
We saw some Sirutov fighter jets scratch the skies with showers of missiles and rays that nailed down the last of them
," he spotted some of his co-workers glaring at him. "
Ahem… along with assistance from us Arkain warriors, ofcourse
."
"
Okay, and about this forsaken monster that you people seem to be interested in
," Wan took a moment to glance back at Pathor, still remaining non-chalant as long as his presence was detected. His eyes returned back to duel with Casio's. "
Does anyone else in the world know what exact species this is? Or what size they expected?
"
Casio remained quiet before replying to the second question himself.
"
No, this is the first time that we are seeing this
…" he held out a hand to point at Pathor. "
Magnificent creation from another world. Truly none of us had any clue, that it would be a Fleskofalin turtle. We knew that the Hon family had a beast caged deep underground. And what can be a better day to convince Eolum Hon than on his birthday to name a price for his pet? Well, now if you'd excuse us…. We're looking for Mr Hon, if you've seen him. His butler was a bit hard to bribe, but eventually he complied
," Casio snickered. "
It's getting late, I'd say, Mr
…"
"
Masayoshi,
" Wan introduced himself. "
One last bonus question, if I may add
."
"
Sure, go ahead
."
"
How many people were last seen inside the mansion
?" Wan's eyes narrowed.
"
Only the butler. No sign of his daughter or any other guests. Some of our men and women are busy keeping the crowd of news reporters from sneaking in anywhere near the main building
."
"
Ah, is that so?
" Wan removed his hand from his sheath and looked over to his shoulder where the octahedral storage object remained hovering. It targeted Pathor and instantly dematerialized it from existence – now trapped inside the magical device to be unloaded anywhere anytime Wan pleased. "
You wish to meet Mr Hon? Be not worried, because you're about to meet him
."
Before any of the Arkains could realize what was happening, Wan activated a portal seed and teleported out of there as the Hon mansion came plummeting down into the cavern from above, now that the giant turtle holding it up was gone.
Wan re-appeared in an alleyway near the Hons' residence, grabbing the octahedral vault and shrinking it down to a pebble-size with a spell, "
Baksho
."
Phew! That's it, baby. Game over. Finally! Ahh….
Wan closed his eyes and looked up at the sky, now growing cloudy and dull.
Can't believe I can finally get to home now. Just need to report back to the headquarters.
Wan took out his CommPhone.
Ah, crap! I totally forgot to check in on Bain. I wonder if he's okay. He should be. My best pal's a tough nut with a soul of steel.
"
Wan! By the goodness of God, where have you been?
" Bain's voice seemed much alive and well. "
Oh man, did you see that! The Hon mansion just fell down into a sinkhole or something… straight into the ground
!"
"
Ah, hey Bain. Yeah, I'm aware. I'll explain once I get back. Uh-huh. Sorry I couldn't check in on ya when I was busy fighting Mr Arise-from-the-Dead. Haha
."
"
Oh that's fine, as long as you are. Also hey! Shouldn't we go and help the Hon family out or something? I'm on my way now. Had been taken into a healing center to recover from a wound. Of all the people I could lose to, some local police sniper got me!
"
"
Naah, don't sweat yourself, man
," Wan began walking away from the Hons'. "
Trust me. I was there. I kept the Hons safe. Besides, who do you think we are? Insurance providers? Haha… We're dungeon hunters, Bain. Let's not forget that
."
A blend of three public service sirens – police, ambulance, firefighting – spread out like a blanket around the neighborhood.
"
Ehh… You're right, I guess. Okay, but… does that mean it's the end of the mission?"
"
For now, yeah. It is. Time for the break we deserved
," Wan stretched his arms, while his legs carried him in motion. "
Alright, then, I guess we can call off the night. See you around, Bain
."
"
'Kay, see you, Masayo
."
Wan ended the call.
His mind's accounting room was busy sorting out all of the information from the past hour.
One monster. The Akamine wanted to destroy it, the Arkain wanted to purchase it, and the Sirutov got paid by both sides to support them. *Sigh* Already have my head busy with training and improvement all the time. Can't bother memorizing guild politics now.
A news media helicopter flew overhead.
Also, let's hope none of the Arkains in there survive to tell the world about me. As for their guildmaster… Better hope he doesn't survive.
Wan took out another portal seed.
A storm is approaching.