"Why are you so alarmed, White?" Danielle calmly told me. "I've told you already. The Dear Leader just wanted to see you."
"Dear Leader, huh? I know that place is a republic but I didn't expect she would make everyone else call her Dear Leader."
"That's just how these Magic Administration students are. In the end of the day, they are still in this competition despite us can't even get out of this mess."
I wondered, "Do you think Sam knows about this?"
"You know I won't know about that right?" He raised his eyebrows. "Look, just come with me and you can ask away most your questions with The Dear Leader herself. She may be able to help you in something."
As things were getting a bit tense, we were suddenly alarmed by a sound of rustling metals. Danielle quickly got up and looked around the surrounding. It was a group of AI soldiers. Upon a closer look, they were apart of the Nova Crystalist banner.
"Alright, that's enough of you two." One of the soldiers told us, "You're in Nova Crystalist territory. Show your credentials now."
Danielle sighed as he walked toward the soldiers and handed out a piece of paper.
"What is this?" The soldier asks.
Danielle then claimed, "It's a paper from The Dear Leader, of course. Don't you know me?"
"Oh so you're that guy, huh?" The soldier remembered, "That outsider who got into our city and immediately rank in higher than all of us."
The tone of the soldiers does not bode well at all. I could already tell that something unsightly will happen very soon.
"What's up with that tone, soldier?" Danielle was annoyed. "Aren't you AIs supposed to be following your protocols correctly." He then turned to me and asked, "You think this is a bug, White?"
I remained silent as I shrugged. However, deep down inside my mind, I think that's quite an interesting bug to have at this point in time. Little did I know that this small incident would later shape the future of this realm.
The soldier then suddenly tear the paper in half and said, "We have enough of this!"
Danielle fumed, "What the f-"
But he was immediately pushed down to the ground with the back of the soldier's spear.
"We had enough of bowing down to the likes of you. Using us like mere stepping stones for whatever the hell you want. You think you some sort of god?!"
Danielle talked to himself, "What the hell is going on here..."
Another of the soldier then raised his spear and pointed it at me, "You there! No funny business now!"
I raised both of my arm to the skies as the soldier apprehended me. As that was happening, Danielle was hatching up something sketchy.
"What are you doing!" shouted the soldier that was holding him down.
"I'm not doing anything, dear soldier. I'm just looking at my bags over there. I was a bit worried if you guys happen to check on it..."
"Well how dumb of you for telling us that." The soldier then asks his friend, "Check the bag!"
That soldier then grabbed Danielle's bag. As soon as the bag was opened, an alarming sound began to blare from the bag. All of the soldiers was shook by the noise as they all looked at the bag while immediately covering their ears.
At that very moment, Danielle rolls the initiation as he pushed back the guard and quickly got back up. Not missing the chance, I also pushed away the soldier that was handling me. I initially wanted to attack but the next thing I saw was spears been pointed to my face. This also happened to Danielle. We were then slowly pushed until we collide with each other backs. We both looked at each other.
I whispered to him, "What have you done..."
"Beats me..."
"Any plans?" I asked.
He whispered back to me, "I got this..." Danielle then raised both of his arm to the air in a surrender manner.
His face says otherwise as both of his hands suddenly began procure some sort of ball shaped energy. It was glowing in light green. The ball then suddenly shoots out a light beam, hitting two of the soldiers in the head.
"What the..." I was flabbergasted.
The head of those two AIs was penetrated as they quickly fall to the ground.
Danielle then shouted, "Duck!"
I ducked as he ordered to do so. He quickly moved his floating energy ball and directed it to the other soldiers. Two of them tried to stab him but it was immediately blocked by the energy ball. From what I could assume, those energy ball was more than just a laser beam of some kind considering that it can also acts as a means to block something.
Two light beams was then released from the energy balls as it disintegrate and melt the spears as well as going through the chest of the soldiers. They all fell down but remained alive unlike the previous two. The two of them tried to run away but Danielle looms over.
"No...You're not getting away from my Meltdown." He then blasted those two, creating another huge chunk of hole in their heads.
I raised my voice out of necessity, "What the hell was that supposed to be? Was that necessary?"
"I ain't done my business with you yet, White. Will you cooperate with me or not?" He warned me. "As soon as you cooperate. I'll consider you my friend."
I gave a few seconds to think and decided, "Fine. I'll follow you. For now."
Danielle then quickly shifted his tone as he dropped and hides away his energy balls away from me, "Good! Now then, how about we hit the hay for the night and we begin our journey to Noctunyx tomorrow."
And just like that, I'm now under the 'custody' of Danielle Excelle. Some people in the academy would refer to him as The Melting Monster. But to me, he's more famous for having a wild way of talking into people. Like having a laser for a mouth.
TO BE CONTINUED