Episode 15 The Trail Grows Hot

A loud trumpet call rings throughout the skies painted blood red in the kingdom brought under rule of the Castle of Kyreim. A wide procession of solemn men and women dressed in black presses down the street, carrying in their midst a long, wooden coffin bearing a cross across its closed cover.

This grim procession finally stops in a large marketplace where a dais has been raised, and together the procession delivers the casket to rest upon the top of this dais.

At once, from their midst, their leader, dressed in black as well, steps onto the top of the dais, to a solemn gathering of observing peasants. At their leader’s side hangs a gleaming Asianic Bow, clasped to their leader’s side by a golden, tinkling chain.

Suddenly their leader bends over, and weeps over the dark coffin standing silent upon the dais. The cover is then slipped open, revealing the pale face of Arai smiling even in death.

Ryuu wraps a rather large brown overcoat over himself, seeing that it fits him perfectly. He glances over his own appearance in a mirror, staring at his own reflection.

The cape-like coat runs from the tops of his shoulders down to his ankles, with the collar turned up to help obscure his face. Under his coat, his Twin Dragons sits clasped to his side, hidden under the folds of the coat.

Ryuu inspects the collar of his coat, on which a strange rune is inscribed on, with a serial number written underneath in a tiny font. “What did you say these coats were for again, Sasha?” he asks, turning to Sasha, who is dressed in similar attire, though her coat is rather smaller than Ryuu’s and fits her more snugly.

“These coats are custom-made secretive armors created by the best in Skylark City as a defense mechanism designed specifically for Paradox Hunters. They may not look like it, but once worn, it will make it almost impossible for outside parties to recognize us, no matter if they were our brother.”

“I see,” Kunai replies, fumbling around in his own coat, which happens to be just as large as Ryuu’s, and therefore, oversized for him. He folds back the sleeves of the coat, finally reaching a more comfortable method of wearing it.

Meanwhile, Ayame and Ivy stand next to him, both wearing equally large cloaks. Ayame’s barely fits her; however, the collars of Ivy’s coat run right up to her eyes, and the legs of her coat lie like puddles about her feet.

Kunai stares exasperatedly at Ivy’s difficultly with her coat. He turns to Sasha. “Sasha, aren’t there any smaller coats for us to wear?”

“Unfortunately this was the only size they had available on such short notice,” Sasha replies, “Normally these coats are custom-made for only the wearer specifically, but we had no time to place such an order. I apologize, but we’re in a hurry.”

“That’s right,” Ayame replies, “so it seems we’re gonna go traveling abroad then, huh?”

“If that’s the case,” Ryuu replies, “then we’ll have to be careful who we meet and talk to on the road. We don’t know anyone here and it’s best to keep our goals private.”

“Wow! It’s our first time actually traveling in the Night World!” Kunai exclaims.

“Hopefully we won’t get lost…” Ayame adds.

“Don’t worry,” Sasha replies, “I’ll be guiding you guys. You can count on me.”

“Well where are we gonna be heading first then?” Ivy inquires, attempting fruitlessly to fold back the collar of her coat to stop them from chafing her neck.

“There’s a small monastery up north of here,” Sasha replies, “there are usually maybe two or three wandering travelers staying there, so it’s always a good place to ask around for information. Not only that, it’s quite possible the Priest there has heard something.”

“Monastery?” Ryuu mutters, “You mean like a little church?”

“That’s correct,” Sasha answers, “There are monasteries scattered all over the country, in fact. They’re all derived from the great Church of St. Grendel that rules next to the Charemis Monarchy in the capital city of Meridean. It’s theorized that the Third Phoneme Lily is kept safe in one of these such monasteries, but nobody knows which one.”

“Interesting,” Ryuu grumbles under his breath.

“The Church of St. Grendel?” Ivy wonders out loud, “Is that the same Grendel from our world?”

“Yes, essentially,” Sasha answers, “considering he once held the title of King in this world long ago, before the passage of time was even recorded.”

“Before the great beast broke loose and the Four were forced to convene at Victoria, in other words,” Ryuu adds, “So he was once King here, huh?”

“Yes,” Sasha replies, “Incidentally, what are his fortunes since moving on to the Maple World?”

“Dead,” Ryuu replies without a shred of sorrow. He waves it off nonchalantly. “He was assassinated by the Myougun early on in our journey. He was the last of the Four to perish.”

“He’s…dead?!” Sasha cries.

“Pretty much,” Ryuu answers.

“I see…” Sasha replies in a low voice.

Ryuu and Sasha stare at each other silently for several moments, as if relaying a silent exchange of words. Ayame glances apprehensively from one to the other.

Kunai suddenly speaks up, bringing the ringing silence to an abrupt halt. “So, shall we get going then?”

“Yes,” Sasha answers, “we should get going as soon as possible. I feel as if our enemies are already beginning to close in on us again.”

Elsewhere, in a forlorn abyss plunged deep in darkness, lurks a puddle of complete dark matter. It slithers like a snake over the soft, dirt ground slowly, spouting forth an agonizing sound eerily similar to a groan of pain.

At that moment, two dark figures enter this ledge, nestled between the butts of two great cliffs, creating a deep ravine where the lonely path of a black, forsaken river runs.

They enter without so much as a rustle of a leaf, and instead peer silently down like sentinels at the puddle of groaning matter slithering on the floor before them.

“Stand,” the figure on the left mutters in a chilling voice, “Azuria.”

Without warning, the puddle leaps into the air of its own will, and takes the shape of a man. As the dark matter disappears, it is replaced instead with the black, dripping remnants of blood oozing from his body.

“I-I’m bleeding…” Azuria mutters, unable to stand completely straight. He leans over towards the trunk of a tree, using it as leverage to support himself.

“You are not bleeding,” Ezekiel replies mercilessly, “that which is born of the great beast does not live. We are not mortal, blood does not run through our veins.”

“Correct,” Noel continues, “you are merely bleeding that of the matter of which you are made.”

“What did this to you?” Ezekiel asks Azuria, without hesitation, without a sign of worry for his friend and comrade.

The brief memory of Kunai’s face surfaces to Azuria’s mind, and as he stands, his knees shaking, he clenches his fists as the heat of hatred envelops him. “Him.”

“Surely not?” Ezekiel mutters, showing not a hint of surprise, but rather skepticism. “A pathetic mortal human like that which you fought cannot inflict this damage upon one of our kind.”

“He did this,” Azuria replies, his breathing ragged and irregular, “he did it! He…that boy is not human. There is something deeply powerful about him.”

“Impossible,” Ezekiel answers, “I refuse to believe that a mere human is capable of such power. It is impossible. I refuse to believe so.”

“If you don’t believe it,” Azuria retorts, still breathing heavily, “then fight him! See for yourself that he is extremely powerful. I don’t know where his power comes from, but it is powerful…”

Suddenly Ezekiel starts in wonder. Noel turns to him. “Is something the matter?”

Ezekiel shakes his head slowly, though rather contemplatively. “Could it be, that his claw…?”

Ezekiel strains his memory, searching his mind for the image of that boy whom his comrade had fought and nearly lost to. His mind returns to the deathly scene of the boulevard littered with dead Paradox Hunters, where he’d seen the Joukai for the first time. “It may be the work of him.”

On the road once more, Sasha leads the way down a meandering dirt trail as the group heads up a soft incline into the outer reaches of a wandering forest.

Behind them, the moon sits like a large sickle amidst a sky cleared of clouds. Instead, a mass of stars sit upon a canvas of pale periwinkle blue; casting a faint hue of starlight down upon the lonely lands beneath them.

The outline of Skylark City shines faint in the horizon as well, as the group departs the city, leaving its bright lights behind as they begin to move onward once more.

Sasha turns as they round the first hill towards the forest. She glances back with a hint of melancholy light in her blue eyes.

“Is this your first time leaving Skylark City, Sasha?” Ivy asks, as the group pauses while their guide gazes back longingly at the city in the horizon.

“I’ve been away from Skylark City lots of times,” Sasha answers, “I’m used to it, since it’s a requirement of my job as a Paradox Hunter. Yet I’ve always known I would come back when I would leave. However, this time…”

“I understand,” Ivy replies, “It’s like you don’t know if you’re gonna be coming back later to see everything that you’re so used to seeing.”

“I get the feeling that you miss your own home, Ivy…” Sasha murmurs.

“Actually, no,” Ivy replies, causing Sasha to glance up slightly in surprise, “I just came flying out of the sky one day into Kunai’s arms. My memory was erased by the Myougun, so I don’t really know what my home is like in the first place. For me, I never had a home to miss…”

Sasha’s eyes widen a little at this statement. “I see, then…that’s even sadder.”

“But…but!” Ivy protest, “It’s all right, because I have my friends with me! And when I think about it like that, then I don’t worry about anything anymore…”

“Yes,” Sasha smiles, “that’s right.”

Kunai suddenly groans, and kicks a large clod of dirt up into the air. “Ugh…hey! How much longer till we get to that church place or whatever? My feet are tired from walking…”

Sasha scowls at Kunai, raising a handkerchief up to her hair to wipe some of the dirt out of it. Kunai smiles apologetically, grinning rather stupidly. “We’re not that far from the monastery…it’s only about six or seven miles north from Skylark. We should be getting there soon…”

However, as the group rounds a long train of pine trees, they come upon a large clearing, where the ground lowers and flattens once again, becoming a long, flat plain stretching for miles north.

Before them is a two-story monastery, standing quietly in the quiescent darkness of the night, unaware of any visitors prowling about in the inky silence.

Kunai places a hand up to his eyes to get a good look at it, though it is rather unnecessary due to the lack of sun. he blinks at the sheer size of the monastery, standing alone in this abandoned clearing.

“Strange…why make such a big, fancy building out in the middle of nowhere?” he mutters.

“The Church of St. Grendel strategically placed their monasteries and houses of worship all over the country so that any wayward wanderer could have a comfortable place to stay. As you can see, it has become quite convenient for traveling,” Sasha answers.

A sudden rustling catches their attention suddenly, and Ryuu clutches the hilt of his sword, bracing for a fight. Sasha narrows her eyes as well, and her free hand strays to the Berzerker she carries behind her.

‘What is this foreboding presence…?’ Sasha wonders to herself, ‘It’s almost kind of…scary…’

A laugh suddenly pierces the air, carried by an updraft of wind. Kunai jumps in recognition at the sound of this mocking, laughing voice. “That voice…that voice!”

Ryuu turns to Kunai, who has begun to pulse with anger. “I recognize that voice anywhere!” Kunai dashes forth recklessly, casting off his heavy traveling cloak and revealing Myou wrapped about his arm.

“Come out!” Kunai yells into the air, “Lord Kimura!”

Another gust of wind blasts by, and the silhouette of Kimura reveals itself, standing next to a second person upon the roof of the monastery. Behind him, the moon hovers over him. However, he stands at an angle so as to bathe him completely in darkness.

Lord Kimura steps aside, and allows the second figure to step forth and leap down to the ground to meet the others. Everyone gasps out loud in recognition.

“Shuriken!” Kunai cries, baring his teeth, “Have you come back for a rematch so soon already?”

“Do not be ridiculous,” Shuriken mutters, “Though the great Lord Kimura has kindly healed my wounds with his expertise, I am in no condition to fight, nor does the idea of it intrigue me at the moment. That is not why we are here.”

“Then…why are you here?” Kunai mutters tentatively, attempting to mask the fact that he is shaken by Shuriken’s words. “Why have you come here if not to fight?”

“Fire.” Shuriken leaps out of the way, rejoining Lord Kimura at the top of the roof of the monastery. All of a sudden, the entire monastery bursts into flames, and Sasha screams in horror at the sight.

Lord Kimura smirks down at the group below him, eyeing Kunai in particular. “Remain vigilant, Kunai. I am eagerly awaiting the time when you may present me with a challenging fight. However, you must understand…we are enemies, and I cannot allow you to take an advantage over me. That is why…I cannot allow you to have this clue as to the Third Phoneme’s whereabouts.”

Kunai cries out loud, helpless to do anything as Lord Kimura and Shuriken disappear before his eyes. Meanwhile, with a loud crash, the building crumbles before them, as the flames greedily lick at the sides of the monastery.

Sasha screams in terror as she watches the monastery crumble. She runs towards the door, screaming, “Priest! Priest! Are you in there?!”

Ryuu places a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back as Sasha desperately attempts to break into the flaming building collapsing before her very eyes. “It’s no use, Sasha. Even if the people inside were still alive, it’s too late.”

Instead, Sasha falls to her own knees, sobbing and weeping before the door of the lost monastery, and the lost clue.

Next Time: Episode 16 Queen’s Port—The City by the Ocean

Kunai: All right! We’re off to the next city!

Ryuu: No more lame jobs in Skylark City…but there’s gotta be a catch to this new town.

Sasha: Gangsters.

Kunai/Ryuu: WHA?!

Episode 16 Queen’s Port—The City by the Ocean coming soon!