"You're Back." A noble-looking man spoke out softly, not that his tone did anything to hide the grin building at the corner of his lips.
Anyone could tell that such a man was savage. But despite that, his dressing was just as casual if not more so than Game's. He wore an all-black casual outfit that matched his hair color.
However, the streaks of white that ran through his hair stood out.
"Nazier, you're still alive I see." Game let out a wild grin. Without warning he threw a knife towards the head of the man, which hardly got a reaction from those around.
As for the knife on his neck, he didn't take it seriously she wouldn't dare. Probably. Then his calm turned to worry since the girl truly was unpredictable.
SWOOSH!
In a moment the knife had all but reached its target, but all this got was an unbridled laughter from Nazier. Kill him? With a kitchen knife? He had never been so insulted.
But before he could take any action it stopped before plunging into the ground with the same amount of force it was thrown with.
he immediately felt the little girl on him move her knife to stab him, but then... Nothing happened.
As he thought, it was a fake knife. Instead, he received a swirling hug on his neck and a kiss on the cheek. "ONICHANNN!"
"Yes yes. Get off me, runt." Game let out a bitter smile. This little trickster was still up to her shenanigans'. He could feel the sweat building on his brows just imagining what she was capable of.
Anything could offset her and no one understood what she was thinking. Though he called her a little girl she wasn't all that young, it was just that she was a little on the short end.
"As arrogant as ever, Zuri." Game turned his attention towards the woman who sat in her corner alone. The smug expression on her face seemed to breed arrogance.
'Distasteful.' Game's expression turned to one of disgust.
She was the one who had countered his attack earlier if he could even call it that.
She had dark brown skin and a traditional outfit with mostly the colors of yellow and mud red.
To add to her uniqueness she had strange markings under her eyes, not only enhancing her eyes which were lost to the concept of sleep, but also glowed with runes matching her dress.
"Go back to the rathole you came from Game." Her tongue was... peculiar. But they were all used to it by now.
"And you. Why do you always reveal aggression at every possible moment?" Zuri looked at Nazier not willing to miss out on a chance to berate him as well.
Nazier's brows darkened as he wore an aggrieved expression. Aggression? So his smiling was now considered offensive? He calmly welcomes back a friend and this happens.
But he received a snort when she saw his wronged expression.
'This bitch! Still as stuck up as ever.' Game felt his eyelids twitching but still managed to hold himself, who knew what she would do if she caught him dissatisfied?
"Now now guys. Our baby boy just came home shouldn't we give him a warm welcome?"
The little girl whose face was obscured completely by her hair let out a devilish smile as she held onto Game's clothes. The excessive movement revealed her face.
She was blind, no color but a blank opaque being present in her eyes. Those of the group who caught it seemed captivated, she was no different from a lifelike doll, a prop or toy rather than something real or tangible.
Unfortunately, or fortunately for them, the scene disappeared as quickly as it came, causing them to snap out of it.
"Just as into it as ever, huh Fortuna?" Game nodded in approval, but only he knew the bitterness he felt inside. He would have never been sent out on that pointless crap if it wasn't for this brat!
"You're all a bunch of clowns. Also, you, why aren't you dead?" The last man sent a foul look in Game's direction before he stood up. Walking into the cabin directly.
He was rather generic. Brown curly hair, and freckles, his eyes were green and had an amalgamation of different shapes, but it was easily unnoticed.
If anything was strange about him it was probably the fact he was wearing a suit.
Strapped across and hanging from his body was some sort of strange instrument, but it was hard to tell what it was due to the black cloth covering it.
"Don't tell me he's still mad about the fish thing?" Game pouted.
"You have no idea!" The three said sonorously. Before going on to have their different responses.
Game chuckled at their antiques.
"He'll be back. And when he is..." Chase said aloud, not bothering to turn around. He finally entered the cabin but not without taking his shoes off first.
When he was finally out of sight they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Chase has always been an asshole." Nazier mused.
"Dont hurt you're brain idiot." Zuri snorted, which in turn received a depressed Nazier. He couldn't help but think he was being targeted.
"It was one time, what's got him all grumpy? Sheesh." Game fell into a sitting position as he laid his head to rest on a nearby tree.
"Try telling him that to his face."
"Tch. I could take him. 'He' is coming?" Game snorted as he shamelessly changed the topic.
The rest of them all looked away from Game but whichever way he looked they would turn away fear evident in their eyes.
Not of him but of that man. And he couldn't find it in himself to blame them. Of course, Fortuna was an exception.,
"He's found the boy, Oni-Chan." The girl continued to pull at him in different ways as if examining him.
"A pity." Game spoke with a grin plastered on his face.
That man... If there truly was a devil, it was him. And the path he treads? Hell.
...
"Has the plan been set into motion?" A stoic middle-aged man with bronze brown hair spoke, as he continued his experiment in the lab.
He didn't seem anxious or bothered by the fact he would make a possible mistake.
Despite having a beard, not a single strand was out of place, seemingly following a sort of rhythmic pattern, it showed his fondness for cleanliness.
His green eyes had several star-shaped patterns. They were made up of multiple curved rectangles intertwined with one another rather than having pointed edges.
This man was none other than Cardinal Green. Known as the Greatest genius of their time. But if Cardinal heard those words he would laugh a bitter laugh.
But to most people regardless of his thoughts, that was who he was.
"Yes, Cardinal. I have ensured that all the orders you gave out have been properly executed." The subordinate immediately gave his report.
They were within a white room of sorts. Well in truth it was a lab. As a family that held Knowledge and Wisdom very dear, experiments were part of their daily lives.
So labs like these were quite common. Its walls though seemingly metal are made of a type of wood known as White Wood.
They were a special wood that helped with mental fatigue and the like. It was highly sought after and was seldom used in this way.
It achieves mental support by having you face constant pressure on the mind. It was a strange material whose uses seemed not to match its function
A layman might not understand but to the people of Diagram, its value was seen.
Pressure was just as important as focus when seeking inspiration.
"Good. There is something large at hand. Though I'm not sure if it is true, she can't remain here. Good work Caspian. You may go." Cardinal nodded his head, his thoughts trailing off, before going back to work.
Caspian opened his mouth to ask what he meant but when he saw that the Head had already gone back to work, having seen this matter as concluded. In the end, he could only leave.
A glint in his green eyes appeared, and with a gust of wind, he vanished. Leaving nothing but a Runic Diagram in his place, but even that disappeared soon after.
If the experts of those powers saw this they would open their mouths agape in shock.
He seemed to have high attainments in the Wind Augment. The problem though was... that speed was enough to leave, Space, Light, and Dark Augment users behind in the dust!
Despite being a Wind Augment user, it seemed that he would not have a problem leaving many of those monstrous speedsters behind.
It seemed that the roots of the Green Family were even deeper than they let on. A talent of this level was only a level lower than the Cardinal and at worst 2 levels.
"Christian... What are you planning?" Confirming that Caspian had left, Cardinal muttered under his breath, then went back to work.
{1} White Wood is a Natural Construct{2} of the Light and Earth Concept. The trees are similar to sakura trees, but they can misdirect one's focus and the wood beneath the bark is white.
{2} Constructs are powerful treasures or artifacts, both man-made and natural.