Chapter 135
Neutral zone parallelling Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2038, Planet: Grimoire
Unfortunately, after returning, Grifton found a landmine exploding in his face! As soon as he stepped foot into Lamberton's warehouse. He and Firenze were dragged elsewhere.
"Oi, Tinroy, Jesso!" An aide of Lamberton waved his hands frantically. "Forget the usual routine and come with me!"
"What gives?" Grifton mumbled.
"You'll find out soon enough," Firenze said grimly. "I should've warned you before now," he mumbled, looking unhappy and guilty.
The location they wound up at?
None other than the remains of the Flange Orphanage complex. It still held scorching heat, but the barrier Grifton glimpsed might've had to do with that and not the unreasonably hot temperatures that had returned in his absence.
"So why were we taken here?" Grifton surveyed the still-smoking remains of what used to be the Orphanage's main building. He glanced at his companions, who seemed very ill at ease.
Lamberton's face was gaunt with repressed rage and sorrow. "What you weren't told by anyone was who caused the implosion and created a barrier to keep snoops out with death."
"So, you finally came back and intact," Darmono stood in shadows.
Grifton started in surprise when he heard Darmono's voice. He was stunned when he saw how much he'd aged in that short absence. Clearly, he'd gone through something terribly traumatic. His eyes were cold, his face expressionless, and his hair turned completely white. He was on edge and could snap at any moment.
Grifton swallowed hard. "Yes, sir, I've arrived." He said quietly.
Now wasn't the time to be sarcastic. What happened here brought both men to such depths of grief and despair? Grifton came to the only conclusion, and it made horrible sense, really. "This was caused by Doyle Moline, wasn't it?" He felt the man's disappearance completely with his lack of signature.
"Yes," Lamberton sighed. "Strangely enough, we received notifications." Grifton saw Darmono nod briefly.
Lamberton sighed and spared a glance at Firenze, "Him as well," When Grifton stared at all of them in confusion. "So, I was the only one who got nothing?"
Firenze spread his hands in confusion. "We don't know what that was all about."
"Not that it matters, but the timing was ambiguous because it came." Lamberton shook his head angrily, "Before the implosion and subsequent explosions occurred." He sighed. "Darmono, could you take over? I can't do this anymore." His hands fisted at his side.
The white-haired man stared at Lamberton with outrage. "As if I'm in any shape to do so?" When Lamberton stared at him in open pain, Darmono averted his gaze and sighed. "All right, fine, I'll do it," He turned his attention to Grifton, looking him straight in the eye for the first time. "His timing was impeccable as usual." He was obviously beyond pissed right now.
Grifton couldn't blame him. He felt guilty for not warning them about how fragile Moline's mental was. It had hinged on him being able to spend quality time with Lamberton and Darmono. Evidently, something else triggered his meltdown that Grifton hadn't known about. So, what was the determining factor that took place? Until he found out, there was no way he could shake the feeling of guilt.
"We were told not to come near here no matter what." Darmono shook his head. "I knew he had lost his heart when Madam Murray was murdered." He murmured at last. "I hadn't known how bad his mental state became when he returned here." A sigh escaped Darmono when he finally concluded. "As soon as he saw all the damage accrued in his absence, Moline seemed to collapse inwardly." He recounted everything that he could think of. "Although now that I remember, I don't think the damage to the Orphanage really set him off."
Well, that was a complication, to say the least. "Uh, okay," Grifton winced unhappily.
Firenze gently touched his shoulder. "It isn't you whom they're angry at. It is Moline." He reminded Grifton.
"Still, I think I have some blame for this happening," Grifton mumbled. "I didn't consider what would trigger his mental collapse."
No wonder they were furious. They had to wait for Grifton's ass to arrive, and that was delayed because of everything that happened.
So, what else happened? He saw Darmono and Lamberton still shook with rage and fury over the situation. They also exchanged glowers at each other and were mumbling about something he couldn't hear clearly.
"I see." Grifton stared at the barrier shimmering around the area. "So, I take it that no one could go in there, hmm?" He was baffled. His senses picked up faint life signs. "Something is alive in there." He folded his arms. "Though it is faint, it is not in danger of extinguishing yet."
Firenze, Darmono, and Lamberton stared at him in horrified disbelief. "Are you certain?" Lamberton inquired. "He only went downhill after seeing what someone did to desecrate Madam Murray's abode."
Grifton shuddered. "Oh crap, I hadn't even remembered about that," He frowned in confusion because something about that situation didn't make sense to him. He had briefly mentioned something to Doyle, but only a partial amount of destruction occurred. "It was only briefly, but I warned him about what it looked like before we returned."
Darmono winced. "Right, but neither of us accompanied him when he finally went to look at the area."
Lamberton shook his head. "It wasn't long after that when he changed drastically."
Grifton closed his eyes. "So that was the trigger that caused him to break?" It seemed Darmono had yet to have a chance with Doyle in that case. He winced with renewed grief. "However, I still don't understand why we all had to gather here?" He regarded Lamberton and Darmono with distinct confusion.
Darmono and Lamberton exchanged glances. "Uhm, that crazy bastard keyed the barrier's opening to all four of us." Darmono shook his head.
"Which means that no one else but the four of us can enter it safely." He stopped at that point.
Lamberton took up the explanation once more. "Anyone else would get zapped," he paused and gave Grifton a mild look, "or worse vaporized if they dared to even cast a spell at it in an attempt to collapse it."
Grifton was horrified. If he were honest, this was highly troubling. Who knew Moline would snap this badly? It hadn't even crossed his mind that this would happen.
"I don't know what to say, to be honest." Grifton sifted through what he heard carefully. "Though I know he'd witnessed some of my traps when I made them and how they activated in the past." That had been years ago when still a stupid kid, but that was no excuse to make now.
Darmono grimaced. "No wonder it seemed familiar," he muttered in discomfort. "Now I get why Brinton freaked out when he heard the news."
Even the merchant paled when he heard that information. "Ah, right, I recall seeing streaks of lighting and smoke once similar to that implosion." Lamberton realized. "Now I remember that incident in the orchard."
Ugh, from that time when they'd squashed an attempt to poison the water? That's when it really settled into Grifton's mind. Err, so in essence, Moline had pulled one of his tricks? He was stunned at the implied brutality and twisted fury that tainted Moline's mind at that point, and Grifton shuddered.
Darmono nodded and sighed. "He remembered everything utilized as traps because they worked." He grimaced with a shudder. "Though I have to say that really didn't fit him at all in what he did," Darmono shook his head in concern.
Lamberton grunted but said nothing. He exchanged glances with Grifton, who shrugged with an unhappy expression. There was nothing else he could say at this point.
"Seriously, he went overboard when he chose to increase the voltage to vaporize level," Darmono grunted. "I can only assume that he found a connection to Bellonia in that case. Otherwise, I don't think he would've done this."
In a nasty twist of revenge against the villains who'd killed Madam Murray, it seemed Moline turned it into a lethal trap to chase off intruders? As Grifton heard that, he was horrified and shook his head in stupefaction. Wow, that was vicious and entirely unlike Doyle Moline.
Grifton's shoulders slumped as he contemplated the implications of what was concealed in those ruins. As far as Moline was concerned. It was apparent to all of them who stood there right now looking at his violent handiwork. His mental state must've fallen apart if he'd gone that far to safeguard what remained of the ruins.
That part baffled Grifton the most. He studied the ruins with the mysterious life signs that fluctuated but not significantly enough to concern him unduly. What was in there that required the four of them to enter simultaneously? It made no sense that he should be there with Firenze Jesso, for that matter.
"All right, so what was the message about that required all of us to be here?" Grifton made his confusion evident.
"As we were informed earlier." Darmono pointed to the barrier. "That thing requires all four of us to go inside."
"None of us know why exactly." Lamberton looked displeased about the situation.
Firenze cleared his throat and got their attention. "I think it has to do with those life signs that Grifton detected." He reminded them. "Do you recall the mention of 'firebird' and 'rejuvenation'?"
When they frowned at Firenze, he sighed. "So, you didn't get that message?"
Grifton grunted. "I have a suggestion, though it might be a tad late. Did any of you bother to print out any of them onto paper?" He knew it was possible that Firenze hadn't done so, but that was only because there wasn't access to a printer of any kind during the last few weeks of the journey. The other two didn't have that excuse, though.
"Uhmm, yes, we did, as a matter of fact." Lamberton pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper and smoothed it out.
Darmono silently produced a copy. He glanced at Firenze. "Thanks for forwarding your message to me. I also took the time to print it out."
Just then, a message arrived for Grifton, making him hiss. "Oh, now I receive something." He grumbled and opened the message. It was the missing part.
Doyle Moline's voice echoed in their mind. "To you, who succeeded against all odds, I now ask that you four retrieve my final gift. I'm sorry that I disappointed all of you in the end. However, I truly couldn't handle what happened. I was on my last remnant of self-control when I saw what had been done to Madam Murray's domicile. I lost the remnants of rationality and couldn't handle reality any longer. Therefore, when I did this, it was with the conscious knowledge that as a sterile male phoenix, I would rejuvenate once more, and only then would offspring result. There might only be one fledgling, but there could be as many as three. All of you should retrieve them and take them somewhere safe.
That is all the time I have to remain sane.
Sincerely,
Former Director Doyle Moline of the Flange Orphanage"
Much to their shock, four areas of the barrier lit up. They matched their handprints. Now that Grifton understood what was happening, he felt searing loss once more.
"Let's do this properly as he wished," Grifton finally stated.
They rose to their feet. There was a better time to dally. Once Grifton understood what he sensed, a sigh escaped him. "Fortunately, we've arrived with time to spare. They're healthy."
Darmono's body twitched. "So, there is more than one in there?"
Lamberton grimaced. "I didn't plan to become a father again," he mumbled, sighing.
"Did you think that we were ready for that matter?" Grifton growled at them.
That made Firenze sputter. He snickered at the three of them. "You're the worst." He shook his head, trying not to laugh at their startled expressions. "He's right, though. Neither Grifton nor I are ready to become parents." Firenze linked his hand with Grifton. "Now, shall we finish this? I'm willing to bet there's more going on than meets the eye in there."
That reminded all of them why Moline had selected all four of them. He'd found them trustworthy, and nobody else would do for this final task.