'He… knows my name?'
Tanjo stood in a bewildered stupor, his mouth gaping underneath his mask. How could someone, who is presumably a rogue warrior, have any information on him? He was relatively unknown in his own village by name and has not even ventured more than a fraction of Adonai—so how would anybody other than a friend know his name?
Suddenly, a thought surfaced in Tanjo's mind—the illusion.
'Perhaps there is more to the illusion magic than meets the eye… literally.'
Regashi craned his head a touch sideways, eyeing the masked boy. "What a hyperactive mind you have."
Tanjo jolted at the brown-haired man's words. 'Or.. something else.'
"Where's Mizuki!? I know for a fact you know who he is!" Tanjo hollered, confronting the man instantly.
Regashi's eyes flickered, becoming dim compared to their original glow. "The cursed child?"
"Cursed?" Tanjo echoed, blinking repeatedly.
Obviously, something was off with Mizuki—he was the sole reason the chief of Buraun is currently among the living. However, the reason for the miracle was still unknown to Tanjo, nor was it something at the forefront of his mind.
Regashi swayed his head back and forth. "Well, I guess he isn't anymore…"
Tanjo's eyes widened.
"What happened to him!?" The masked teenager yelled fiercely, every one of his muscles clenching tightly in fear and anger.
A grin stretched onto Regashi's lips. "All this for a child… I can already guess that you've been asked 'why', but I'd like to know—for who? Mizuki, yourself, the world?"
"Maybe to spite people like you!" Tanjo barked, his teeth grinded against one another.
"Feisty," Regashi said, "I can see how you got this far…"
The man's words seemingly lingered, an obvious indication that more was on Regashi's mind. Tanjo, since he was a child, was good at reading people; it was one of the factors that keyed into Tanjo's laborious goal of making everyone smile, seeing the pain and anguish under the eyes of every individual…
…But this man was slightly different. Tanjo could not, for the life of him, detect any malice or pure intentions. He was blank, it seemed. Masking emotions would certainly be a skill a murderous rogue would pick up, Tanjo was sure of it.
"Mizuki. Where?" Tanjo seethed, increasing the brevity and importance of his demand.
Slowly, Regashi placed his index finger against his lips, an amused smirk widening. "And if I refuse to answer?"
"I'll find him myself." Tanjo retorted, his Aura Sense flaring harshly.
With narrowing eyes, the brown-haired man became silent, his green eyes glued to Tanjo. There was not a single clue as to what the man could be contemplating, his countenance more veiled than an opaque mask.
Regashi retracted his index finger from his lips as he then said, "I wonder… How much would you endure for a simple goal?"
'That's not a good quest—!'
Before Tanjo could signal any more mental red flags to himself, he felt cold steel fasten around his limbs, restricting him entirely. With a heavy—*CLINK!*—Tanjo's efforts were futile as he could not snap the chains with sheer strength, which quickly alarmed the boy.
'My strength alone should be able to break these chains… so why aren't they coming off!?' Tanjo exclaimed mentally, glaring at the steel material wrapped around his arms and legs.
"You've garnered my curiosity, Hero," Regashi claimed audaciously. "By your standards, what would be more valuable: your humanity or a child's life?"
Tanjo had no time to respond as a wild surge of pain ripped through his left arm.
"GRAAGH!"
Shakily, Tanjo shifted his gaze over to his left arm, frightened by the new sight. His entire arm was peeled, not a bit of flesh sticking to his bones—there was not a drop of blood either; just sheer, unadulterated agony. The masked teenager could not utter a word; his voice was dying from the immense pain. Not once has he ever experienced anything more sufferable, nothing more horror-inducing.
A hum could then be heard. "Are you still up to save Mizuki, Tanjo? Maybe you're smart enough to realize how painful it would be to have everything your way, to have nothing to oppose a world full of indifference."
"What… are you talking… about!?" Tanjo forced out a few words, his jaw tight.
Regashi shrugged. "Nothing. I'm merely rambling."
Without warning—"GRAAAAH!"—the flesh on his right arm was starting to be noxiously peeled off the bone, but instead of it being immediate, the flesh was being ripped like the skin of a fruit, exposing everything underneath.
Agonizingly, Tanjo could do nothing but scream in pain. As of now, the boy was no longer able to think, his mind desolate from his overly reactive nociceptors.
"Huh," Regashi said. "You can't even think straight or control your body, yet you expect to be responsible for everyone else's. I know your little desires, Tanjo—"make everyone smile," a wondrous dream. However, dreams are dreams; I, on the other hand, make realities. I am not imposing a new way of life on the people like you plan to—I'm warping the way it runs."
It did not take much thought to know Tanjo was unresponsive, but Regashi chose to admonish the boy without a care in the world. His eyes merely remained locked on the masked teenager with concealed emotion.
The man tilted his head. "Although… I don't mind reminding myself of how 'correct' I am every once in a while. It's pleasurable to see others fall from their own ambitions, as if it could potentially rival my own."
He was sadistic, plain and simple. A smile resurfaced on the man's expression, his green eyes glinting mirthfully.
Unfortunately, Regashi was not quite done with Tanjo. All it took was one wave of his finger for the most horrific event to occur. Tanjo's entire body was peeled, ranging from his neck down—all that remained was his mask and the skin underneath.
Tanjo was fading out, apparently being welcomed by death itself. Blackness, as dark as the illusion cast previously, started to swallow the defenseless boy. Was it comforting to know that his pain was going to end? Or was it even more terrifying that everything he strived for was going to be cut short?
A mischievous grin was etched on Regashi's face. "Maybe I'll kill Mizuki, after all—seeing as to how you came so far, just to give him false hope. I'll give him that freedom, something nobody could properly give."
Suddenly, one of Tanjo's bony fingers twitched, his blue eyes shooting wide open. From the center of his soul, he exerted a grandiose amount of his Aura Sense, his magic spiking incredibly.
"GRAAAAAH!"
That was all it took for everything around Tanjo to shatter, giving him every bit of flesh he previously had back onto his body. Every pang of pain had vanished, his mind gradually returning with every angered thought.
Tanjo had finally broken the illusion.
"I'm already sick of your illusions, bastard!" Tanjo roared, standing up on his feet, balancing himself.
The man hummed once more. "Color me impressed. Maybe you do have the integrity to selflessly harbor everybodies burdens."
"Shut up! Where is Mizuki!?" Tanjo yelled venomously, glaring at Regashi intensely.
Regashi was silent, his eyes analytical—that was all Tanjo needed.
"Fine!"
With pent-up aggression, Tanjo lunged at Regashi with immense speed; his body brimmed with potent magic, capable of destroying anything in his path. The masked boy clenched his fist, reeling his arm back mightily.
It had taken less than a second for Tanjo to close the distance between them, but even then, he was still far too slow, as he was instantly forced into the ground by an invisible force, unseen by Tanjo himself.
"Argh! The hell!?"
Regashi tilted his head. "I must have triggered something inside you to make you act irrationally. Anyways, I'll just tell you where the boy is instead."
Tanjo grew surprised at the man's words, lifting himself up from the cracked ground. There was no possible way he could trust Regashi, but the smartest option was to get away from him and potentially find Mizuki, even if it was a lie.
The man inhaled. "He's in the chambers below. My underlings will still chase you, though. But, find Mizuki, and your journey will have reached its climax, Hero. But know this: I'll come back to get Mizuki, along with everyone you know. Your dreams can't beat reality, Tanjo."
That's all Tanjo needed to hear before he dashed off, scurrying to find Mizuki.
Regashi smiled as Tanjo left his sight.
"Prepare, Tanjo 'Nozomu,' your time is limited."
XXX
I changed so many things about this chapter, but I'm finally content with what I have and what it will lead to in the next few chapters until this Volume is concluded! What does Regashi mean in his ramblings? Will Tanjo actually find Mizuki, or be intercepted somehow? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_