Long hours came to pass and this evening was slowly growing fiercer like the raging flames that brighten their corridors. With the release of Godfrey Lane's team of various experts, Maximilian the muscle, Lilla the nurturer, and the master escapist the Twins. Even with Garry's momentary seal of his newfound power, Lane's team was enough to cover the overwhelming loss of their firepower
"So little man I know what's going on in your mind, why would a merchant group require someone of our expertise? To tell you the truth the mystical planes are one tough cookie, so tough you'd think you wandered to another world. Merchantry or what you call entrepreneurship is pretty dangerous considering the dangers outside the city," As they move from one vent to another Zahyr lightens the mood with a little trivia by his side
"... dangers? Oh, do you mean the mystic beast?" Garry replied
"At least you know one of them, there's lots, ever heard of elemental terrains? The worst one was the inferneous, their landmarks that hold such strong geographical effects. Elemental planes can vary depending on the place, one of its known facts is the change when you've been in terms of contact," Zahyr points to himself and he was confused by what he meant till the older twin replied
"He's talking about the different races, Garry,"
"You're no fun big bro," Zahyr frustratingly replied
"I did say we're in a situation that doesn't need your trivia, but this is special since it's bound to get so boring as we crawl. The Arcanists (Grims) of the past who ran away in hiding after the war with the Grimmels came back to their origin. The mystic planes were said to be the very place where the Grim Kind first learn of the existence of mana. Take us elves, for example, Arcanists that are strong in a particular element gain perks and others will gain penalties, more so if its an opposing,"
"Hey, what are you guys talking over there?" At their backs, Godfrey yelled as he heard the three chattering with such a delight
"It's nothing, we're just talking about the most common effect of the Elemental planes!!" Estelle replied by yelling as their distances grew farther as they crawl
"Oooh! You guys haven't told him yet, did you? I wanna tell him to slow down, im more familiar with this topic. Also, Max is getting all cranky, I think it's been a long time, let's take a short break. Don't move, it'll be a drag if you wasted your time bringing your asses here, it's so freaking tight!!" Said Godfrey as he, Max, and Lilla forcibly bend their limbs as they move further at their reach
"Just curious but you don't feel anything right? I've seen countless Grims get cuffed, but you don't look the slightest bit affected. How strange... it makes me wonder if you're truly a– Hmmp, hmmm delicious what was I saying again?" As Lilla shoves a sandwich down his throat his priority then shifted from eating
"Don't get so annoyed with Zahyr, if you've ever seen Max blabber I bet you all my coins you'd rather chose the twins. Now the thing about the Elemental planes it affects Grims in many ways either positive or negative, let's start with a known fact. Dwarves, Elves, and many other races originated from Grims you could say the land affected them physically, do you know why?"
"..." Garry racks his mind but nowhere did he come to a logical conclusion and shakes his head
"Don't worry, this secret is only known to the inhabitants of the mystical planes... imagine this the mystical plane you're currently at is a rainforest. A place full of lush greenery, in that place magic that's related to plant base or nature is boosted. Opposing elements are weakened, that being fire, the element you currently have. Now that's out of the way once Arcanists settled down in these areas their physiology will change along with their children,"
"Adapt... do you mean they adapt?" The group clapped as he guessed after the hints Godfrey openly drop in their chat
"Quite clever are we? I guess evolution must be a topic that the Grimmels have taken quite fondly. To survive the harsh environment of those places, the Arcanist's body slowly adapts to the environment. It's not a change you could see in a matter of years but decades and its maximum being centuries of migration. But there is one place deep inside the Mystic planes that has nothing but a surge of untainted mana, Narlleous,"
"Narlleou– Hey watch it!!" Maximilian pounce on him and wrapped his shoulders tightly around Garry's neck
"The city of Grims, Narlleous which translates to ancient Grim text as 'Null' being the only place that has no influence. Most of the Grims live their lives in places that are unaffected by the geographical influence of the mystical planes. Once we're outta here you ma little friend will be a city boy at Narlleous, will drop you off at an orphanage or perhaps a shrine,"
Garry was awfully accepting of his situation and before anything, he was reminded of Maximilian's curiosity. "Max, what were you asking about something a while ago? I think I heard you say in the lines of my condition. Is there something wrong with me?"
As bizarre as it was the elves were dumbfounded by his condition, Garry never felt any irregularities or pain. They'd even go so far as to wonder if the shackles he wore were defective but as they look it radiated with such a brilliant glow. But young Kettle remains indifferent and not a single time we're they hindered by the arrival of these restraints
'There's no way those shackles would be defective... it already passes the point of no return, the glow indicates the vastness of the mana it drained. And yet he's still kicking? Now that I've thought about it Garry never once took a break as he simultaneously conjure a ball of flame?'
"Break times over, we need to go. We can't waste any more time... we aren't just dealing with a high explosive shackle but the seal of Garry's latent ability. Everything so far is going smoothly as planned, but we can't laze any further," His group reacted with a bitter and irritated groan, and Garry just nods as he crawls and follow the twins
'I thought that the reason why the nobles were killed with such haste was because of that subject he calls 'Science?'. But now im quite curious about this boy's past, even if he manifested there's seemingly no logic behind his aptitude. It doesn't seem like a random awakening, maybe... his parents might be an Arcanist? But why would they leave their child to suffer, well there's no point in unwinding his secrets, it's not like he'll stay with us,'
After long hours of crawling through the vents, the gang was finally met with solid ground as they burst through the final duct. They came out and the first thing they was an army of guards surrounding their flank, everyone was dumbfounded. Garry himself lose hope of escape as Umbler appeared before them and in her back were metal spikes impaled with carcasses
"Everyone at my back," They followed Godfrey's words as if it meant a guarantee of their survival
"Well well well who would've thought a collaboration like this? Elves, not one but five of them to say the least, I guess it tallies the immigrants we caught. I thought you were just a no-good bunch of children but I guess poorly... you devils! To think you have the heart of a lion or the brain of an ant to think you'd get away as easily as this!!!"
She lightly pokes the ground with the tip of her rod but it conjures a towering pillar of metallic spikes aimed for their lives. The chill that Garry had was not related to her explicit touch on his sibling but to the overwhelming difference in their power. He shakes in his boots as she even without the help of her men ended the lives of what he speculated as hundreds of inmates impaled near the gate
"Ohohohohoho! You sure do like to joke Grandma, but I think it's inappropriate to call yourself the eldest in this situation. If you would've been a hundred-plus old I think you would've been my type. But shall we all face the reality of this point, and who the fuck told you were at the end of our plans, Maximilian now!!" Godfrey tinkered with his watch and it flashed with a blinding light, the guards raise their shields but nothing ever happened
"See ya losers!!" Everyone looks above as all five of them shrunk whilst held in Maximillian's care
"Oh right! Since today was our release, we made everyone a parting gift. May you have a wonderful day..." As they escape Estelle threw the restraints given to Garry in their attempts of escaping through the vents
"It's a shackle!!?"
The guards ran but as these pair of cuffs felt the impact of the ground it flares up and takes the lives of thousands in mere seconds. A crater was the only thing left, not a single corpse, there wasn't even a smell of burnt-out flesh. It was like they never existed, but in the rubble stood a rageful figure bloodied her head was from the impact, and her face was riddled with fury
"Why the hell am I going at my fastest pace? Boss we just blew those fuckers to kingdom come, I can't believe you. I'm super hungry, do you think all this movement doesn't drain me...?"
Godfrey trembled along with his group and said. "We can't! Do you know what we're dealing with? She's a fucking catalyst, what's worst she's quite known in the wizarding world. The moment we get caught it'll be the death of– Tree!!"
As they made their escape from the forest, the group was met with a tree flying in their path. Maximilian dodges in due time and as they back away and settled in the grassy plains their met with a freakish silhouette. It was a monster walking on two feet and as it head their way it shifts from a freak to the shape of a man and evening light revealed its face
"Hello children, nanny's here to bring you back! Come on don't be shy... nanny wouldn't dare injure her precious children!"
Umbler was standing before them with but a cut on her head and her devilish smile as cold as the melting ice. Their encounter was no different from a beast, she was relentless, unforgiving, and most of all, she track down her prey to the end. Garry and the rest were about to engage in a battle they most certainly die but everything their time was cut too short for such an event
'Aquarius Orbus!" The raindrops seemingly gathered before Umbler as it grew into a giant overholding her at bay
'This voice... it can't be...?'
"Max, what the hell is going on?"
"I don't know boss, im confused as well,"
As they heard the voice of an old man their broken hopes came to be undone and in the foggy parts of the forest he appeared. A man dressed in style and stature befitting of his name and achievement. With the foxy grey hair and husky voice of an elderly, he arrives in due time in the need of his master
"I'm sorry for my tardiness, young master..."
"Simon?" He nods to his master confused utter of his name and Umbler escapes from his spell
"I am your opponent, you blundering hag!" He angrily points his wand at the face of a veteran at her degraded shape