4th Floor, Room no. 404
Alice stood there momentarily frozen in front of the door as she knocked the door lightly and slowly.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Come in!" replied a cold chilling voice that belonged to a lady.
Alice slowly opened the door, as she looked around to see if anyone saw her and slowly closed the door behind her.
"You're late. What took you so long?" asked the cold voice which had no emotion behind it but Alice could feel there was a hint of anger in her voice.
Alice slowly turned around as she felt a chill going down under her spine looking at the lady sitting in front of her crossing her legs.
The lady, wearing black goth dress having a pale round face that looked like a doll, emotionless eyes but had an allure of beauty that could make any men fall for her.
But what made her presence threatening was standing behind her was another entity wearing a goth black dress that stood behind her, it's eyes closed having a white angelic face, sharp angular horns decorating its head, each limb elongated with its arms having sharp nails that can pierce through walls, as behind its back, was a black metallic scythe having a skull on top of it attached on its back.
[Passive Skill [Calm Mind] is active]
"I was just talking to Artis about our departure tomorrow morning." replied Alice, avoiding making eye contact with both of them.
"Oh?"
Alice gulped, "And I heard....that you talked to Artis at the bar warning him about the attack...Why did you do that, Celestia?"
Celestia eyes shook for a moment as a deep and suffocating presence filled around the room that made Alice tremble in fear as she clenched her heart.
"Sigh..." The presence disappeared hearing Celestia's sigh, "I just wanted to meet with him after all this time....but it seems he still doesn't remember anything..."
A deep silence fell between the two as both of them continued to stare downwards not moving an inch.
"But Celestia," began Alice, "Artis has began to speak even more now! You saw today how he performed today. There's still hope for him to remember everything!"
"No!" commanded Celestia, "Not now Alice! You should know why I called you right now!"
"I know...and I already made my decision." replied Alice with a confidence in her eyes, "Don't you forget your promise to me, Celestia!"
Celestia stood up from her seat as she looked at Alice with emotionless eyes, "You have my word for that."
...
Alice returned to her room at 7 PM which was still supposedly lock.
Sighing deeply, she entered the room to see there were 2 suitcases packed up kept beside the bed with a note attached to it.
"I already packed the bags. If there is anything missing then unpack the bags and pack it again. I'll be at the Captain's cabin discussing about my future training plans and about the Great Skill so I'll return around 7:30 to 8. Call me then, I'll join you for dinner after that
"-Artis"
Alice reading that note couldn't help but chuckle loudly as a drop of tear fell from her face.
Slapping herself, she checked her drawers and a special suitcase she carries and placed it above her bed.
Inside it were a few mechanical tools, a red gauntlet and a hilt with no blade attached to it. She picked it up and looked at it with trembling hands as she put the hilt in her pocket, wore the gauntlet in her left arm and locked the room.
...
Inside the Captain's Cabin, Artis sat opposite of Captain Fervier as he seemed to be in a great mood enjoying a drink of wine.
"Uh...Captain? Did I come at the wrong time?" asked Artis slowly.
Captain Fervier stopped drinking as his face was red hot and replied laughing, "Not at all, Artis lad! Just met an old friend of mine today! He didn't stay here for too long though. Just shared a drink with me and said he had something important to do."
"Uh huh...I see, I see."
'Well, I mean, it's not my business who captain meets or not...but I have to say, this might be the happiest I've seen the captain over my stay here...'
"Anyways, Artis lad, here's the item I promised you. I bet it will look good at you. Use it carefully from now on and don't forget to attend tonight's farewell dinner."
Placed in front of Artis was a wooden box that Artis stared for a while.
Opening the box, inside was a black gauntlet with gold patterns over it as he grabbed the gauntlet feeling a dark energy coming from within it.
As he wore that gauntlet on his left arm, he felt an enormous amount of energy and power flowing within his body as his consciousness was telling him to go berserk and ruin everything.
[Passive Skill [Calm Mind] is active]
Calming himself down, Artis analyzed the gauntlet keenly as he moved around his arm to feel the gauntlet.
"Great ain't it? Made from the finest materials and beasts I could get. This gauntlet increases your strength and skills by 30% for a while but be careful about it.
"If you wear this gauntlet for more than 2 hours a day, it will cause you some bitterness and irritation for a cause that will make you ruin everything. So be careful about that.
"It will also make your punches stronger by a lot. Aerial Ace and other attacks like that will cause more damage to your enemy. Be careful to not lose it, got it?"
Artis looked at the Captain with gratitude as re replied with tears in his eyes, "Thank you so much, Captain. I don't know how can I ever repay you for the kindness you've shown me!"
The Captain laughed loudly hearing his words, "Don't mind! Don't mind! Just consider it as an initial investment from my side."
"Anyways, you must be busy now with your departure tomorrow and all. Go rest for tonight, don't forget your training and good luck to your future endeavors!"
"Huh? How'd you know we're leaving tomorrow?" asked Artis confused.
"Well, Alice gal did say they just had to go to Aurosia. Since we're here now, it's only upto her where she wants to get off. You're getting off tomorrow right?"
"Ye-Yeah...maybe...I'm not so sure..."
"Anyways, let's go! It's time for the farewell dinner. See you tonight!"
"Thanks again, Captain!"
...
Outside the Dining Hall, 8:10 PM
Artis continued to wait for his sister outside the dining hall wearing his usual black jacket over a white shirt and blue jeans tapping his foot as he continued to look around the hallways in search for his sister.
"Aargh, Where in the world is she? She's already 10 minutes late! Why does she always do this?" grumbled Artis angrily irritated at his sister's habit of always coming late.
"Do what?" spoke a familiar and energetic voice from behind.
Artis turned around, and his sister behind him smiling warmly as she approached him.
For tonight's event, she wore a red dress over a white jacket, her red hair tied in a single ponytail with bangs in front giving her a serious mature yet beautiful look that made Artis blush a little avoiding his sister's eye contact.
"Tch!" Artis clicked his tongue. "You're way too late you know!"
"Oh?" chucked Alice, "How long have you been waiting for?"
"I have been waiting...for 30 minutes!"
Alice laughed hearing Artis's angry tone as she pat her brother's shoulders and said, "I'm sorry that a certain someone packed my beautiful clothes without asking my permission that made me pack my trolleys again. So being a little late does justifies me right?"
As Alice said those words, her grip on his shoulders continued to increase as Artis gritted in pain.
"Alright, Alright! Fair enough. Let's go now! The function might've already started already."
Alice nodded as both of them entered the hall for one last time.