Lucerose's Mercedes pulled into the parking lot of a motel. He watched the solitary illumination from the motel's lights, shining through the 4 AM darkness. His wand materialized into his hand and he held it up to his face. A pink flash illuminated from the wand. Lucerose appeared inside of one of the rooms, taking in the scent of it all, watching the lights flickering over a bed with brown blankets. Lucerose reached into his pocket and revealed several wads of cash and threw it on the bed.
"You can come out now, Thrine." Lucerose motioned his hand. A woman dressed in black with curly green hair appeared in the corner of the room, drinking a light blue liquid out of a glass vile. She picked up the money and looked at it with some indifference.
"You know, all the money in the world won't make any difference when the Witch Society comes after us." Thrine put the money into her robe.
"When? You're being terribly cynical."
"I'm being realistic. It won't be long before the gangs get wind of you selling some mystery drug, then how long till the Witch Society figures out?"
"How funny, you act so apprehensive, and yet you still act so loyally in this operation. As though you understand, even beneath all your doubts, that you've no reason to worry so much." Lucerose glared directly into Thrine's eyes as she remained silent. "And I'll take it the next batch is ready, too?" Lucerose smiled with devious confidence.
"Check the bathroom." Thrine pointed to a door beside the bed. Lucerose walked to the bathroom and saw three glass bottles waiting on the sink's counter, each filled with a deep purple liquid.
"Ah, what beautiful potions." he commented. Thrine approached the counter, revealing a wand in her hand. "And surely you understand that with your abilities, none of these potions have any reason to fall under the Witch Society's nose." Lucerose smirked as he watched her wand glow a bright green.
"Crystal Blue." Thrine said as she pointed the wand at the bottles. Each of the liquids rose out of the bottles. She guided them up with a hand motion as they formed into a single mass. Thrine forcefully closed her palm, and as she did, the mass twisted in shape. The liquid underwent a rapid crystallization before Lucerose and Thrine's eyes. Thrine opened her hand once more, and the mass shot out into several, small, purple crystals, all floating at her command.
"A spell which can freely manipulate and reconstruct the properties of potions while keeping their abilities intact." Lucerose grabbed one of the many crystals and spun it around in his hand. "From what I've heard those without proper control of Sin Energy have these incredible highs and hallucinations when they smoke or snort them. Enough so that it's really taken the market by storm." Lucerose sniffed the crystal. "They're calling it Magic Dust on the street, now how funny is that?" He snickered. Thrine snatched the crystal from Lucerose. Each of the crystals were manipulated to float themselves into about five plastic bags. Thrine went into the bathtub and grabbed a scale out of it. The total batch weighed around four pounds.
"Sure, any chemical analysis of these crystals will be essentially identical to crystal meth, but if someone in the Witch Society, hell, anyone who can control their Sin Energy takes one of these, it'll be readily apparent that they're potions." Thrine seemed concerned.
"And? Remember, I'm investigating rouge Witches with connections to criminals. I've got a perfectly healthy scapegoat."
"Whatever. This ends the second I can afford top surgery." Thrine grumbled.
"No matter." Lucerose grabbed a bag and stared at it gleefully. "This operation will have already served its purpose by then."
Just as Lucerose gazed at the crystalline substance with admiration and glory, another group saw it with rage and fury in their eyes. A gangster called Treskin smacked a drug dealer across the face with his pistol in a dark alleyway. He ripped a bag of magic dust from his hand.
"Now just what makes you think you can loiter around on MY turf!? This is Scorpion territory!" Treskin's dreadlocks waved haphazardly around his white and acne ridden face. A younger male with cleaner and darker skin stood beside Treskin, clad in a black leather jacket and curly black hair in a high ponytail. "Shark! You show this bastard what's gonna happen to the rest of his pathetic crew!" Treskin barked. Shark sighed.
"Very well sir." He calmly replied, pointing a crowbar at the drug dealer's head. To this, the drug dealer simply smirked.
"You think I care if I live or die?" the drug dealer asked. "This dust is gonna change the world, a tsunami isn't gonna stop because the little fish in the sea object to its flow."
"You're quite philosophical for a drug dealer." Shark looked down at his opposition.
"Seems you are too." the drug dealer smirked as he looked over to Treskin.
"Shut the hell up already, end this bullshit!" Treskin ordered.
"Fine by me, the new era is coming either way." the drug dealer's eyes were blank, almost blissful. Shark raised the crowbar and swung it straight through the dealer's face, his arm both efficient and forceful. Shark walked over to the now lifeless corpse and began investigating it.
"We'll have to find this guy, boss." Shark spoke, sifting through the pockets. He revealed another small bag of magic dust, no weapons, no money, nothing. "Given the volume of product, we can consider this to be a relatively small operation. Shouldn't be difficult to snuff this guy out." He added, walking over to Treskin. Treskin grinned widely, his mouth illuminated by several golden teeth.
"Let's fuck this guy up!" Treskin announced. As the two walked away from the dead body, Shark couldn't help but think as to what exactly that dealer was talking about. A tsunami, a new era, Shark was both baffled and awe struck by the cult-like devotion this man held. He quickly shook his head. Surely, this was just one of many puppets of delusion which plague this country.
Within their cell at the juvenile detention facility, Misodre gazed obediently at Lunello.
"Yes sir, I understand." they nodded.
"Good. Now be ready, Misodre." Lunello ordered. Lunello vanished from Misodre's sight. Lunello walked quietly through the darkness of the prison, plotting the same escape he had made countless times before, when relaying information to Misodre. Just as Lunello was walking, he couldn't help but get the feeling that he was being watched. He could detect footsteps walking beside him, despite there being none present through available auditory or ocular information. Nask stood directly behind Lunello, his presence hidden by Moonlight Sunshine. Nask took on a stance just before deactivating his Ego Spell. Nask jumped straight at Lunello at a blinding speed. Lunello faced Nask directly, blocking his finger tips with his forearm. A gust of wind breezed past them as Lunello noticed a deep wound in his forearm.
"So you were able to see through my stealth, impressive." Nask commented.
"I take it this attack was supposed to kill me?" Lunello asked, a trickle of blood falling down his arm. Nask quickly pivoted around Lunello, quickly feinting around him. A slash of wind cut into Lunello's torso, with Lunello getting a glimpse of Nask in the corner of his eye. Lunello spun off his foot and threw a downward kick at Nask, throwing them down to the ground. Nask and Lunello fell on their feet and stared each other down.
Water began to rise from a small holster at Lunello's waist, taking two bladed shapes within his hands. Lunello dashed towards Nask, slashing at them with these water blades. Nask barely dodged, a small splash of blood revealing the blades had ever so slightly nicked him. Sneaking behind Lunello, another slash of air was shot from Nask's wand. Both of Lunello's water knives cut through this blast in a cross slash, as though they were a pair of scissors.
"So, your wand takes quite an unconventional shape. I suppose leaving both of your hands free is of superb importance." Nask commented, glaring at a small gaunted which sat on Lunello's index finger.
"Your deduction isn't going to save you and your pathetic stealth." Lunello jumped at Nask once more, aiming a cross slash at his chest.
"Moonlight Sunshine!" Nask disappeared from sight. Lunello quickly started looking around himself, looking for any possible trace which could reveal Nask's position. He smashed his two water knives together, allowing them to coalesce into a single mass of water. Lunello rapidly spread his arms out, shooting droplets of water shaped like knives throughout his surroundings.
Eyeing these droplets closely, Lunello noticed the slightest bit of movement, a force acting on a droplet. A bullet shot from this place, visible to Lunello as it sped towards him. Lunello blitzed towards it, as he sliced through the bullet with a water blade. Absorbing all the droplets into another blade, Lunello stabbed right through this invisible, undetectable being. Just as Lunello felt the give and weight of his blade stabbing into human muscle, the Ego Spell which hid perception released Nask from its protection.
Lunello glared down at the plague doctor mask, the blood splattered on the white jacket, and the gun which lay in their weak hand.
"I must say, I'm disappointed in you, Stealth Force commander," Lunello scoffed, ripping the blade out of Nask's torso. "That you thought a pathetic trick like this would work on me." Lunello quickly turned around and shaped the water into a shield, blocking Nask's wand from hitting him. Nask quickly jumped back, sure to keep his distance from Lunello.
"Well now, appears you and I are evenly matched." Nask said, catching his breath as they looked at Lunello. Lunello snickered at this assertion.
"Evenly matched? Appears you don't understand just what situation you're in." Lunello claimed.
"Oh? And how is that exactly?"
"Simple. In terms of power, ability, skill, sure we're even. But you only have one avenue of victory, to kill, capture, or otherwise neutralize me, whereas I have two. Either I succeed by killing you where you stand, or, I escape." he explained, the water now spinning around his hands.
"Then it seems you're the one that doesn't understand." Nask replied. "You aren't leaving this place alive, no matter what." their masked eyes stared daggers into Lunello's soul.
"That so?" Lunello jumped back onto a wall, planting his feet into the concrete. A blast of water propelled Lunello forward as he dashed towards the prison's exit.
"Pathetic!" Nask sped towards him with a similar speed, wind rushing past him. Looking up at Lunello, Nask aimed his wand. "You've let yourself open I'm afraid. It's over." Nask threatened, readying an attack through Lunello's chest. Just before they could fire, Nask noticed a new figure, standing right in front of the exit's door. He was enveloped entirely by a black cloak, the only trace of identity being long, silvery white hair, and a smile surrounded by porcelain skin. He held a long and thin black wand, which shone a light blue glow at the tip. An odd presence surrounded him, not an aura of Sin Energy, but a flickering, appearing similar to a video tape with the footage being sped up.
"Please, Nask." he began with a voice both delicate and threatening. "Don't try to challenge that which is beyond your comprehension." his hand touched Lunello's, and both vanished completely, as though they were never even there. Nask gazed at the door for a few moments.
"There's no way… that man… it can't be him." Nask thought before he turned away to face his wounded subordinate. He directed several Stealth Force Witches to pick them up and carry them away. Nask looked towards the cell block of the prison. "Misodre…" they thought to themself. Misodre sat in their cell biting down on their thumb with a smirk on their face. "Just what are you planning?"
Lucerose's car slowed down as he drove through the back alley beside his school. The dark street was illuminated by a single street light, as the sun wouldn't rise for another hour.
"So you're saying they've been receiving information from the outside?" Lucerose asked, pressing the phone against his cheek.
"Indeed. That superior of theirs put up a good fight against me too. Be careful, Lucerose, they're trying to coordinate something." Nask warned. Lucerose scoffed at his concern.
"I doubt they're going to be of any issue to me." he confidently claimed as he watched a small black car in his view mirror.
"Your arrogance won't serve you well, you know." Nask continued. Lucerose watched another few cars follow from different angles.
"Well, that notwithstanding, it appears I'll have to go now." He said, hanging up the phone. Lucerose stopped his car and got out of it, getting a good look at his stalkers as he stood beneath the street light. "Well now, seems I've accrued quite an audience." Lucerose gestured, appearing like an actor beneath a spotlight. A man stepped out of the car, Treskin walked confidently with his big coat and dreadlocks waving around his array of guns.
"Awfully ballsy to advertise yourself like that, selling your little product all out in the open, you looking for trouble or something?" Treskin verbally harassed.
"Perhaps so, but I must also ask, are you able to provide me with this trouble you desire?" Lucerose asked. Several more men got out of the car, although Lucerose paid special attention to one of them. It was a younger man with an apathetic expression, Shark, who had garnered that attention. Aside from him, it was mostly just white trash types lugging around their weapons.
"Oh I see, you think this is a game or something!?" Treskin demanded, pulling out a large pistol. He ran up to a Lucerose who remained still and confident. Just as Treskin tried to pistol whip him, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Treskin felt a force constricting around all of his body, restraining his movements and his breathing. Lucerose smiled as a pinkish aura of Sin Energy surrounded him. Lucerose's Familiar, Viperstrike, had wrapped around Treskin's body. Lucerose threw one hand up, and Treskin levitated into the air as he was strangled by the purple snake.
"I suppose you could say this is something of a game to me." Lucerose tightly gripped his hand, restraining Treskin further. Shark watched on, a stoic expression hiding the absolute fear in his eyes.
"The hell are y'all doing, fire at this bitch!" one of the men ordered. A great light of gunfire exploded towards a still smirking Lucerose. Shark looked on, his fear molding into further curiosity.
"Lucerose Serpentime, what an alluring man. But you're little more than a bump in this vast criminal road, you showman of crime. In the end, nothing stands up to the power of guns." Shark thought to himself. He shook his head and looked to the side, only to notice a bright flash of pink from Lucerose's position. Staring right at this pink light, Shark diverted his attention to the gang members, only to see bodies dropping to the floor, with a shining pink circle appearing right beside them. From this circle, Lucerose slowly walked towards Shark, the sound of his boots echoing around the now silent street.
"I highly doubt these know-nothings would have been able to track me down so quickly. So I'll take it this was your doing, then?" Lucerose asked with a gentle smile. As he gazed upon Lucerose, Shark couldn't help but laugh.
"So then, this is the new image of power!?" Shark cackled. Lucerose kneeled down and faced him directly.
"Indeed it is. Now tell me. Do you wish to stand alongside me, or against me?" Lucerose propositioned. Shark's cackling quickly subsisted as he stared into Lucerose's brown eyes.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Shark asked.
"I cannot build something out of nothing, you see. Not even the greatest of great men could muster such a feat. I believe that you understand things on a much deeper level than others might."
"If you wish to look for greatness, you're looking at the wrong group. The Scorpions haven't been doing all that great since that arsonist arrived…" Shark looked down. "So, that's why you're gonna come in, and elevate us to new heights, in exchange for granting you power within the organization, is that right?" Shark questioned.
"You catch on rather quick." Lucerose nodded. "Which makes you perfect to work alongside me." Lucerose reached out his hand, to which Shark quickly accepted it.
Isaac's room was dimly lit by the light of his laptop as he sat in his bed, eyes focused simultaneously on the spell book and the screen before him. The screen revealed data regarding Misodre, particularly their sentence at the juvenile detention facility.
"Little over a week it seems?" Isaac watched the pages of his book tentatively. A diagram of a six-pointed cross was laid out before him. At each end of this cross, one of the seven deadly sins were written down, with the exception of wrath, which was written on the cross's intersection. Each of the deadly sins had a magic circle drawn besides them. "I'll need to be on equal footing with them by that point." Isaac thought aloud as he turned the page, looking now at a page of a magic circle. He touched the page and whispered "Fire Release, conjure" causing Sin Energy to flow through his fingers onto the circle. A flame appeared in Isaac's hand, partially distorting the image of the circle. "Sin Energy flows into the image of a circle, and then 'activates' whatever power the circle has, that is spell casting." Isaac continued to think as he stared into the flame.
"Though this seemingly only works for my elemental magic." Isaac turned the page to a circle drawn to represent the sin of wrath. He moved his Sin Energy into it, and nothing came of it. "Perhaps, I have to continue to utilize the power of my elemental affinity, and then once I've gotten the hang of controlling my Sin Energy, then I can use the power of the deadly sins." Isaac looked at the six pointed cross again. "That will allow me to create my very own Ego Spell." Isaac closed his hand into a fist, causing the flame he conjured to disappear. Isaac laid down and stared at his bedroom's ceiling.
"Then, and only then." Isaac spoke aloud. "My flames will consume even The Arsonist."