A man sits in an empty room, with no one else in it. He's tied to a chair directly in the center, with a sack on his face. It looks like he's sleeping. Suddenly a light turns on directly above him. He becomes more alert, and instantly raises his head. He hears a door open from the side of the room. He doesn't see her, but the person standing in the doorway is a fair skinned girl in all black. She has grey eyes and her white hair dangles right in front of her face. The clanking of her shoes is nothing but intimidating, as well as her emotionless face. Standing behind her is a blond girl who looks about 5 years older than her. She has a discontent look. We can recognize these two people as Angel , the girl from the Orphanage, and Carmen, the witch from the previous arc. Behind them stand armed bodyguards whose faces are concealed by black robes. Angel walks to the man in the chair and takes the sack from his head. It reveals a badly beaten man, who's missing an eye, and sweating as if the room is one fire. His face is bruised and bloodied. Angel looks disgusted with his appearance. We've seen this man before.
" Shigeo, he should be making contact soon enough. We're bringing him here." Angel says.
" That boy is essential to this plan, and you're the only reason why he would come here alone. He wants to kill you." Carmen says. The man is silent. Angel waits for him to say something, but he doesn't.
" Too bad he won't get to kill you." The man looks up with sorrowful eyes. " Please, don't hurt the boy. He didn't do anything."
" We got assurance to do anything that we want to him the moment that you killed his mother. So it's your fault. Turns out that you were a more valuable chess piece that I expected." Angel sighs. " Back at the Orphanage he used to tell me about what a devious person you are. Now that I look back he was speaking too highly of you." She kneels down to him. " Tell me for the final time. Where did you hide it ?" Shigeo stays silent. " I don't know where it is." Angel slaps him across the face as hard as she can. " You know you can be very difficult sometimes. Shigeo Seira. A cowardly man. Once a ranking member in that underground society of mages, and you only rose in rank after the betrayal of Dazai Nieto. They instructed you to kill his family, but you only killed the wife. Not long after you were captured by my dear friend Dacre. Your people didn't even try to save you, how pitiful."
" Angel, is he of any real use to us anymore. Wouldn't that kid just have a breakdown if he sees him? Just kill him." Carmen is irritated.
" Carmen, he's too pitiful for any of us to kill." She looks back at him. " I'll give Mitsuya your last words." She walks away, but is stopped when he starts yelling at her and furiously moving in his chair. " HE'S GOING TO STOP YOU. I BELIEVE IN HIM. HE WON'T BE KILLED BY PEOPLE LIKE -" He gets cut off by Angel waving her hand in the air. At a moment's notice, each of the body guards fire a round into Shigeo. Angel leaves the room with Carmen behind her. " How brutal, Angel."
At 10 A.M on that same day, Mitsuya, Keiko, Julianna and Keiko set out for their day off. Kaoru had asked Julianna to tie her hair in a ponytail for this special occasion. It was a bright Saturday morning, and they had just finished their healing lessons with Mayuri. When they got back, they would have to do attack and defense, otherwise known as getting chased through the woods by Mayomi in fox form. In about 30 minutes by bus, they reached their destination, the Yamamoto Coffee Shop. This was a place that had been quite frequented by Mitsuya when he was looking for employers to work odd jobs, and it just so happens that the owner was a close friend of Mr. Akazi. They entered, and Mitsuya and Kaoru were instantly recognized. A sturdy built woman with light blond hair walked from behind the counter and hugged Mitsuya until he almost suffocated. " IT'S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME. WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN ? AKAZI SAID YOU LEFT MONTHS AGO. WHO ARE THESE TWO KIDS ?" She whispers to him. " Mitsuya… is that girl with the white hair your girlfriend." Mitsuya shouts at her glance and she laughs. He composes herself. " It's a long story Ms. Shichirota. But to make it short, we have the day off today, so I was hoping that you would treat us to some coffee. And no, she isn't my girlfriend. I'm one of the most asexual people that you could find on the planet." The woman smirks. " You know a lot of kids have been using the term 'simp' these days. What was the name of that girl from the Or-" He cuts her off. " SHUT UP."
The four of them are seated at a booth near the window on the right side of the shop. Kaoru and Julianna sit on one side, Mitsuya and Keiko on the other. "' Kaoru, do you remember how you took your coffee ? You haven't had any in awhile." Kaoru ponders the thought for more than sufficient time, making Mitsuya agitated. " Iced, 4 pumps, White Mocha." Mitsuya nods his head, even though Kaoru can't see him. " I'm assuming this would be your first time drinking coffee, right ?" , directed towards Keiko. He stops staring outside of the window and turns his attention to Mitsuya. " My grandpa said it gave you too much caffeine. He never let me drink it." Julianna had been drinking coffee for years before she met them. The people around them were talking so loudly, as if they didn't have a care in the world.There was silence for several moments before Ms. Shichirota finally got their orders.
Kaoru : Iced Coffee, 4 Pumps, White Mocha
Mitsuya: Black
Julianna: Cappuccino with Extra Double Espresso
Keiko: Hot Vanilla Caramel Latte
They all drank in silence before Kaoru brought something up. " I wonder how Casanova is doing. It's almost been a whole day since he left."
" Well it typically takes 12 hours to get from Tokyo to London. He was probably on that airport for like 3 hours, and judging by the traffic in London, he should have taken two hours to get to Avery and Alexander's house." says Mitsuya.
" So do you really think that they know anything about the government mages." Keiko asks.
" Of course they would. Avery and Alexander were government mages themselves. They must have some type of information that could help us track down that witch who put that powerful spirit inside of you. And they might help us in locating your sister, and finding out what they did to Aito." says Mitsuya. Keiko is reassured.
" The more we know the better. That's why we don't have any time to lose before the Mage's Exams. Plus, Mitsuya has to stay in Japan, you and I don't know either of them. Casanova can talk to them because he personally escorted them back to their parents in London and helped them forge new identities. Also, he would be able to take the day or two that he's there to train his shadow magic with Avery." Julianna says.
" I just hope he's fine by now. Luckily Himura stole some of those potions that help conceal magical energy before he left the Organization. So Casanova should have had no problem getting passed the Mana Detectors in the airport." Kaoru says.
" To think that he saved those for this exact moment… that man… he scares me." Mitsuya groans. Everybody laughs at him. But deep down in his mind, he's contemplating a thought. " Casanova, ask Avery about Angel. Get as much information as possible."
A few hours ago, Casanova had approached a medium sized, modern bungalow house in the heart of London's business district. The sun was almost setting and he was extremely tired. He pounded on the door for several moments, trying to lean on it to prevent himself from falling backwards onto his luggage. In the end, he fell down the stairs, but stayed there because he was too tired to get up. The door opened, and a fair skinned woman with blond hair in a ponytail and golden eyes, wearing a white shirt and jeans stared at him. " Uuuummm, Casanova… it's good to see you. We've been expecting you." He doesn't look up. " Just show me where the guest bedroom is." Avery casts a concealing spell and extends her shadow to pick up Casanova and his luggage. " Thanks a lot. You've gotten better." She laughs at his statement. " Well, we have a lot to talk about. I've been training. But for now, you should take a nap." Casanova yawns. " Can I have a bath first ?" She groans. " It hasn't been 3 minutes and you're already asking for a bath. Sounds like something Mitsuya would say. Good boy." " STOP TREATING ME LIKE A DOG."
They ordered seconds of coffee, not worried about spending the entire allowance that Himura had given them. They even bought danishes. Suddenly, Kaoru became alert. " MITSUYA… WHAT DAY IS IT ?"
" September 3rd. You remembered, didn't you ?" Mitsuya becomes depressed. " How could I forget. It was such an important day. Not that our entire lives were based on what occurred on this day years ago. But it was still important. What're we gonna do about it?"
" Don't worry. Mayomi and Mayuri already went. They took Ceasar too." Kaoru sits down.
" What's she talking about ?" Keiko intercedes.
" It's a delicate subject. Just that today would be our mother's birthday. If she were alive, she would have turned 41 today."
" Oh, I'm sorry." Mitsuya bows his head, alarming Keiko. " Are you going to cry ?"
" I have no more tears left to cry Keiko. What's done is done.From the day that she died, it's been a journey of vengeance. I can't cry everytime I think of my mother. I can only look towards the future and find the person who murdered her. Since we couldn't go to Osaka ourselves, Mayomi and Mayuri visited the grave. I told them exactly where I buried the vase with the ashes. "
" What do you mean by vengeance?", says Julianna.
"Cover Kaoru's ears." Julianna casts a spell so that only the three of them can hear each other.
" When the Organization exiled us, I kind of threatened to kill all of the elders and take their positions in order to find my dad. That didn't work out quite as planned, and they forbade any other Organization branch in the world from taking me in. I also got a mark with the word branded burned into my arm, so that was a convenient price."
" Oh, so that's how you got that mark on your arm. It would explain a lot." says Julianna. Mitsuya remains silent. " This mark serves as a symbol of my pain, but also as a symbol of my triumph. My triumph, and the necessity to always strive to better myself to the point where I won't be able to cower in the face of any overwhelming obstacle. If I falter, then I'll never be able to protect Kaoru. That's just how it is. I'm on my own."
" I applaud your resolve, Mitsuya. But you aren't alone. We're in this together, just as we once were in elementary school. You saved me from bullies back then, and you saved me again, so I have to repay you. There's no why I can live without helping you." says Keiko.
" Even if you die somehow, we won't ever stop trying to achieve your goal for you. That's just how things are. All you have to do is trust us, and we'll be there for you." says Julianna. Mitsuya sighs, and puts his head on the table. When he lifts it back up, he's crying. " You guys are idiots." Julianna smiles. " At least we're the smartest idiots that you've ever known." Meanwhile Kaoru still can't hear anything. " Hey, what are you guys talking about ? Did somebody cast a spell on me ? Why can't I hear you ?" Julianna erases the spell. " You must be going deaf. We can't have that." Mitsuya says. " Ha, ha, very funny." Everyone laughs.
" By the way, there's a outdoor mall near here. Would you guys like to visit it ?" Julianna asks. Mitsuya takes out his phone. " Well this is just an oof. Mayomi said she won't be back for about two hours. She ran into some trouble in Osaka. Nothing too serious though." At that exact moment, the phone rang. Ms. Shichirota picked it up and gave a formal greeting, only to drop out in a panic. She picked it back up, and looked at them. " Nothing to worry about, kids."
" Well I guess that we can go." Julianna says.
" It's settled then. Mitsuya, you're buying whatever I want." Kaoru says.
" You are the worst sister ever."
" The worst sisters tend to be the best people to be around, you know."
" Why don't we come back here for lunch. The good restaurants already closed because of that virus thing that's going around." Keiko says. They all agree. They get up from the table, and prepare to leave. Ms. Shichirota stops Mitsuya. " Mitsuya… where are you going ?"
" We're going to the mall. We'll be back later." He can tell that there's something by the sorrowful look on her face. " Be careful out there."
The outdoor mall was so enormous, filled with over 60 stores. Hundreds of people were in there, and vendors were selling everything from necklaces to pet birds to expensive cologne to the newest manga series. Kaoru and Julianna took to one end of the store while Mitsuya and Keiko went to the other. Mitsuya had to give Kaoru half of his money before they agreed to meet back up in the center. Mitsuya had to worry about whether Julianna would be able to lead a blind girl through an outlet mall, but he was reassured at some point. An hour passed and Mitsuya left Keiko in a manga cafe, then at a music shop while he went on his own separate adventure.
Mitsuya was strolling in the mall when a suspicious looking, lanky woman called to him and asked him to follow her. He picked up a subtle amount of magical energy coming from the woman, but hesitantly decided to follow her. As he drew closer to it, he could sense the presence getting fainter, then stronger, then fainter again all by the moment. They stopped at a small red tent, with seemingly no light on the inside of it. An old lone sign showed the name of it : The Pythia Practice. Mitsuya instantly thought of the ancient fortune teller Pythia, who was said to have prophesied many events in exchange for giving up family obligation. He was hesitant at first, but entered the tent, being met with nothing but pitch blackness. A candle suddenly lit up in the center, revealing the woman who was already sitting upright in a chair seated at a large round red table in the center of the room. There were photographs on the floor of the tent, seemingly of people from a long time ago. For some reason, Mitsuya felt familiar to the people. He took a seat and looked at the woman. " You're a mage, aren't you ?" She just stared at him.
" Do you know anything about witches, child ?"
" I learned a few things about them a long time ago. I came into contact with one a while back."
" I could tell. I sensed something inside of you, it called out 'witch' to me."
" What do you mean by that?"
" I don't quite know, just that something inside of you doesn't feel right, as if you have some dark energy lurking deep inside of you. Have you been interfering with the dark arts lately ?"
" That's confidential, thank you very much."
" Ah, so you must have. That means that you had to pay a toll for it, a terrible one it would seem. What was it?"
" Blindness. My sister, blind. And I lost my magical powers."
" Oh, well that's just terrible. Is your sister still alive ?" Mitsuya nods his head.
" If that's the case, then you must have had some powerful magic reserves. I can assume that you aren't a regular human, because a novice would have been killed performing a dark ritual like that. It's taboo among mages to give your soul to the dark arts in exchange for anything. Even so much as reciting the verses of the chant needed for the incantation can interfere with the natural boundaries of the Earth. So you, indeed are a special case."
" That's good to know. But can you please explain why you brought me here?"
" You were calling me."
" No I wasn't."
" Yes you were. Not in the way that a normal person calls out. There's a deeper meaning to it. We shall see right now. Based on the results of this test, you might be in for a reward. Do you comply with this offer?"
" What're you planning ?"
" Nothing, my dear. You brought yourself here on your own accord, I just guided you. Now we shall see how powerful your connection to the root is. Just put your mind at ease. I'll look deep into your heart and soul, if you have one that is. Make your wildest dreams come true. Now, do you comply ?" Mitsuya hesitantly nods his head. The woman reveals a deck of cards from her sleeve, and puts them on the table. " The cards, the cards, the cards they will tell. The past, the present and the future as well. Just take three. Take a trip into your future, and we'll see." She hands him the deck, and he takes 3 cards off of the top. She instructs him to put them face down on the table, and flips them over for him. The first card reveals an image of a small boy and a girl with two adults. The woman looks exactly like Mitsuya's mother. " You had a happy childhood, didn't you ?" She snaps and another image appears on the card. It's a picture of a man leaving the door open as the young boy sleeps. " Your dad left you, I see. That's unfortunate." The image turns into a young girl with white hair. " Oh, I see how it is. This girl was special to you wasn't she." She lifts up the card, and it burns in front of Mitsuya's eyes. " You have a history with fire, I see. That girl must have had a thing for fire." Mitsuya becomes infuriated. " Okay, calm down. Now for the present card." The second card reveals an image of five children and 3 adults, along with a cat. " Your family seems to have grown. But you aren't happy aren't you? There's something that you're hiding. You don't trust these people." The third card reveals an ominous image. A coffin turns into a shadowy figure, which turns into Mitsuya holding a person who he does not know. The bloody image of the girl whom he is crying over turns into an image of bloodshed and carnage too horrific to describe. " Is this the future that you seek ?"
" I don't know the meaning behind this. Are you saying that I'm going to be responsible for future carnage and bloodshed."
" I'm not saying that, causality is saying that. Since the beginning of the universe, everything has been put in place. It just so happens that you are an instrumental piece in what seems to be an important turning point in human history. Pain, war, suffering, hunger, betrayal, all of those cards lie in your future. It cannot be avoided."
" So it's bound to happen either way ? There's no way that I can change this ?"
" In this world, it is uncertain whether the destiny of mankind is decided by some transcendental entity or law. Something that is definite however, is that man holds no control, even over his own will. This will happen, and it will be the end. You won't be able to come back from this.
If you continue on this path of revenge, there will be consequences. Are you prepared to risk them ?"
" I'm already in too far to turn back right now. There's no way that I can give up."
The woman smiles. " That's what I was hoping to hear." She reaches out her hand, and a small silver ring with a gemstone appears. The color of the stone continuously alternates between golden and crimson red. " I've been looking for someone to take this for me. I believe that it now belongs to you." She hands it to Mitsuya. " The Masir is the name of it. Also called the Ring of Destiny. You see, the saying is that whoever obtains this object or one of its siblings, is entitled the right to rule over all of humanity in exchange for his soul, flesh and blood. Take the ring, and make something out of it." Mitsuya looks at her for about a minute. " And what if I choose not to take it ?"
" It'll find its way to you in one shape or form. That's just how fate works. It works in mysterious ways." Mitsuya takes the ring, and prepares to leave the tent. " I think it's time for me to go." He prepares to leave, but the woman stops him. " Mitsuya, there were other things in your future that weren't shown on the card. I must warn you, you can't stay on this road of hatred for your entire life. You must do something else about your vengeful resolve."
" I told you, I can't turn back right now."
" Mitsuya, your heart is full of pain and suffering. Try to change it. The people who you have now are important, but the ones that you'll meet cannot be forsaken."
" What do you mean by that ?"
" The person who you love. You haven't met her yet. You don't know the true identity of your rival, and you haven't met the true killer of your mother. The right thing to do is to look for these people while continuing to protect the people that you already have." Mitsuya leaves the tent.
" Wait, remember. The person who holds that ring cannot forsaken its properties. If at any time you forfeit possession of it, you and the person that you give it to, will die." Mitsuya stops in his tracks, horrified. The tent fades away into oblivion, and Mitsuya is left there pondering his thoughts. He becomes dizzy and falls onto the ground. In a matter of moments, he feels someone shaking him. " Mitsuya… wake up… it's been an hour. Mitsuya… MITSUYA." As his eyes struggle to open, he manages to make out Keiko' face in the manga cafe. " You fell asleep. We have to go meet with Kaoru and Julianna at the center of the mall." Mitsuya's face is blank, much to Keiko's concern. " Are you okay ?" Mitsuya hesitates to answer, but then nods his head. He stands up as Keiko walks towards the door. As he walks, he notices something. The ring has appeared on his finger.
In the center of the mall, there's a fountain that people throw coins into to make wishes. As Mitsuya and Keiko approach, Julianna and Kaoru are already sitting on the bench near the fountain. Julianna holds a bag, so does Kaoru. Keiko bought tons of manga series to keep him busy when Mayomi isn't giving him lessons. Mitsuya walks up to Kaoru and says, " What did you spend my money on ?" Kaoru snaps her fingers and instructs Julianna to take something out of her bag. " This is yours, from me and Julianna. I couldn't see it, so she picked it for you, but I could fill the sentimentality." A new edition of the Count of Monte Cristo is shown, leather bound with a golden bookmark ribbon. " Since you were still in your depression stage in the past 3 months, I didn't give you a birthday present. So let's count this. Happy 14th Birthday, Mitsuya." Mitsuya becomes a little teary eyed. " I haven't read that one in a while. How did you know to get it?"
" You gave your copy of it to Angel, didn't you ? Since it most likely burned, I bought you this copy. For old times, sake."
" That's also my favorite book, so expect me to borrow it anytime I want." says Julianna. Mitsuya sighs and smiles a little bit. " Sure." And with that, the kids began their journey back to the coffee shop.
Casanova has just gotten done eating the biggest English lunch that Avery could have possibly made for him. Avery doesn't know how he was able to eat so much while keeping a serious expression, but she was amused nonetheless.
" So you're telling me that the government has been using the research and biological weapons that they developed at the end of World War One to genetically engineer artificial mages." Casanova says.
" Yes, that is true. Since the end of the second world war, they used the mages that had been captured during the Magus Rebellion to perform experiments and receive more information about how to create mage craft and supernatural abilities. When the mages were not able to give them the results that they had hoped for, they turned to using the population as their test subjects. Thousands of children were taken from their homes without the consent of their parents, and they were genetically modified with magical properties. They knew exactly how to create them from the stolen medieval writings explaining mage techniques. Those who were able to survive the countless months of brutal experimentation were kept as super soldiers. We were taught that we had no identity, that we were children given the purpose of exterminating mages and bringing peace to the world." Avery says, as she pours a cup of coffee. Casanova takes it.
" So these genetic soldiers, what was the hierarchy of them ? Are they known to the public, or did they have any privileges ?"
" I'll try to explain it in the best way. Just imagine a pyramid. Let it be known that magical abilities are random, meaning you can not simply be given one through continuous experimentation. At the bottom of the pyramid you have the people who failed the experiments but were saved because they were still in a right state of mind. Second lowest is the people who managed to attain magical properties, but were unable to alter and form new abilities. Then there are those who were able to form new abilities from their crafts, but didn't have very good health and magic reserves. My brother and I were in that section. At the top of the pyramid, you have the six gifted mage children, those who have the strongest magical powers and abilities. They are able to form new abilities without much difficulty and alternate between specific affinities. Those six are the masters of Progression, formation of new abilities and Altercation, changing between several different affinities. Those six are ranked in strength with a crest on their hands. They are known as the Kyrios of the elite force: the Cerberus Corps. My brother and I served as shadow members of this group. They have full authority from the United Nations and the Roman Catholic Church."
You could not comprehend the look of horror on Casanova's face. " Avery… how were those six chosen ?"
" The program was formed as an undercover operation proposed by the major political figures in the United Nations. Children are taken from almost every country that align themselves with the anti-magus forces. Meaning, it is possible that there are exactly 193 or more bases where these experiments take place. If one child from each country survived, then there would be 187 soldiers excluding the top 6. It takes multiple months, maybe even years to develop abilities, so it may be 185 since Alexander and I left. Excluding the top six, they aren't allowed to fight or go into the public. On special occasions, second class artificial mages are allowed to participate in combat."
" That's ridiculous. Avery, did you notice anybody that stood out of the six that you were talking about? Like any memorable features or such ? Please, Mitsuya needs to know."
" Well I actually only met one of the members of the six members. She was a girl around your age, and she had hair as white as a dove. She was fair skinned and had grey eyes. If you asked me, she was the most empathetic of the people in the group. She said that she had been raised in an Orphanage. According to her, she changed her last name."
" What was her name ?" Inside Casanova is hoping that she won't say it. PLEASE DON'T, PLEASE DON'T.
" I think it was Angel. Angel Aria Hyedo." There is silence. " I need to go lie down."
If you are wondering where Himura has been this entire time, he's been visiting an old friend, who had information for him in Akihabara. Not only that, but he took Remy/Arisu with him because Mayuri wanted him to learn how to handle kids. On the outskirts of the town, there was a small home, where no one had noticed for a while now. Himura was sitting there with a man on the verge of death in his bed.
" He's making his move again."
" How many people does he have now ?"
" Himura, the boy isn't what he used to be. His skills have grown too far for any one person to know exactly the measure of his being and the people under him. I don't know. The Ten Blades Syndicate… it's stronger than ever. I fear… they plan to destroy the entire Mage's Society."