"There is simply no way for them to be such dullards. Water is directly drawn from there…" Hugo trailed off, remarking in contest to Lah's unsure seeming guess. Balir shook his head though, his lips pursed as he began to impatiently tap on the grooves of his weapon's handle.
"Why, out of this whole ruined capital, is this one well intact? It doesn't make sense, now does it? And this heavy demonic presence refuses to dissipate, even though the winds are blowing away the raging flames as we speak…"
"This whole area was the site of demon culling. It is natural that the residual energy, although slightly dissipated, would permeate this place and change the essence belonging to it entirely."
"That takes time, though? I mean it's not like the places we killed demons automatically reeked of that energy, no?" Bie said, supporting Balir's reasoning. Hugo brought a hand to his forehead, swirly shaking his head back and forth before dropping his argument entirely.
"Okay, well I think we've agreed that it's the only plausible place to check. Balir and Hugo came from the temples, and Bie and I rampaged through the entire commonwealth area, so…"
"Nowhere to go but down." Bie finished, pointing a black nailed digit down towards the unpronounced depths of the well. Lah and Balir nodded, and Hugo simply jumped up and fell into the hole.
"Hmph. And he clearly didn't want to go in there. Oh well." With that, Balir kicked against the well as bricks shattered, and he slid down the entryway as he hurtled downwards.
Lah bowed, unfurling her wings and rising to the sky before dive bombing directly into a hurried descent. Bie was the last one remaining, and he was deliberating on whether to use Mountain's Step to descend quickly or find a different option with lessened energy consumption.
A light flashed in his eyes as he looked at the bearded hand axe in his hands, and the red crisscrossed thread binding his right hand to his arm.
Leisurely advancing, he calmly fell as he faced away from the well. Back pointed down towards the depths, black filled his eyes as he tossed his hand forward, Ekulech drawing a line in the terrain surrounding the hole as sparks flickered off from the blade.
—
"Should you not be putting those wings back?"
"Why? They bother you?"
"Yes, greatly."
"You're quite mean for a supposed angel. You did this anyways, and they're my main weapon, so I won't."
"It's like you've never seen a woman's body before. The bandaging is thick, anyways, so you don't have much of an excuse. Quit judging what everyone wears when your robes look like a tablecloth."
As he neared the room below, the arguing voices announced themselves in his ears. A soft click was made as he tutted to himself, the shadowed form of the boy with light blue fluorite shaded skin lit with by the green of the flickering flame.
Tap.
Three sets of eyes collectively watched the near soundless descent. One was teasingly accompanied by a wagging finger, another sported a smile as he fixed his tied back hair, and the last calmly acknowledged him before assessing their surroundings.
"Hospitality Home. What an odd scribble…" Hugo read the walls, noticing the archaic, almost hieroglyphic writing carved upon them. Running his hands over the text with glowing red orbs, his shadow turned red as he directed his face to an entryway.
He flicked his finger, and a feather stuck out from a doorway that appeared empty. A squelching noise greeted the room as a mangled nose hit the floor, slumping down without much resistance.
"These are higher tiered cultists, hm? They aren't limited to human transformation…" Balir remarked as he gauged the color of the strips that made up its veil. The shade was of a fairly light green on the top half, but dark green towards the bottom.
"A scout. We will have to find them and dispatch them if we want to ambush The Tarnished Text."
"If you think we can, then sure." Bie's eyes glowed as he took in the dark room, peering at every corner as he did so. Nothing except the text he couldn't read stood out to him, and he was unsure if he'd be able to discern their meaning even with the Cassius Eyes.
"The assertion was not a question, but rather a condition. It would be impossible for all of us to engage the Child of Gant at once if those scouts notified their brethren."
"Sure, sure~ That's all well and good, so let's just get on with it."
"Then how should we proceed? There are three entryways…" asked Balir, who was already interested in one such doorway.
"I'll go alone." The voice of Bie was firm and resolute as he faced an opening that instilled an odd, familiar sensation within him. He wanted to test his prowess alone, and didn't feel like having safeguards around to prohibit his personal challenge.
"Are you sure, Bie? It could be pretty dangerous…" Lah's query was met with a simple nod and a small smile. Shrugging her shoulders, she assuaged her own worries with the knowledge that Bie had already resolved a high tier demon before.
With that said, she stood by Balir. Hugo was left alone in the middle of the room, the weathered man chuckling to himself before positioning before the last empty doorway.
"We will meet at the lowest floor if all things go well. Do not disappoint…" The voice receded as Hugo left the room, trailing through the last remaining way ahead of everyone else.
"Well, good luck. Have fun~"
"Be careful."
The two quietly left the room, their footsteps fading swiftly as they quickly sped along the corridor. Bie shook his head, glancing at the text on the wall one last time before he made his own way forward.
—
Verdant torches casted bold shadows on the simplistic walls, Bie's crawling along the hard surface as he strode forth. A soft white light leaked from his pupils as crosses fell within his irises, accompanying the topaz glow his eyes casted.
Playing a game of hot and cold, he followed the similar sensation as it faded or intensified the closer he got to it.
A minuscule knock rang as he tapped his fist on a door. Though there was an invisible trace that tugged at him in another direction, the entry point before him also evoked a similar feeling. A palm pushed open a door, and the void-like tint of the room was revealed as tendrils of black wind flowed outwards.
There was a grand mural behind a pile of bones. Blue light appeared in the room as particles of the same color leaked from his body, and he felt an odd emotion of joy welling from within the dancing specks.
"Pick them up?"
The feeling of yes.
"Tell me why."
…The feeling of a request. Bie allowed it as a strange garble flowed from his mouth. A mote of light shone in his eyes as he felt information was transmitted to him.
'So it's something to do with my Conception? I wonder how they know…well. Though the energy of the dead is compatible with me, it's not exactly the strong familiarity I've been feeling.'
With these thoughts, he picked up the bones and placed them in his Inner World. The feeling of exasperation radiated from the particles, though Bie shook his head.
"I'm good enough to pick up my own things, for now. You don't need to be so eager to please."
A resounding no. Emphatic insistence battered against his mind like the beat of a drum.
"…Fine. You can do the busy work, but anything that's of import will be handled by me. Okay?"
The particles shimmered as they gathered and formed blue Subjects, their serene expressions revealing content joy as they picked up the bones and dissipated as they brought them back to their "home", of sorts.
That left Bie alone to stand at the center of the room, and he looked towards the mural…