"It feels like it's been an hour..."
"These guys....where else have we not checked yet? I'm pretty sure we looked everywhere!"
After searching for nearly an hour, the quest to find Sencho Neo and Daizen Shizaki was to no avail. Yukino walked over to a nearby bench and sat down in tiredness, while King wiped the sweat that was accumulating on his forehead.
"Well....if we can't find them...."
"I really hoped that we all could have gone together, but, oh well. Neo-kun....ah. He looks like a guy who would want to disappear from a scene at any moment, but Shizaki-kun...."
"Hmm? What do you think of Shizaki-kun?"
King narrowed his eyes as his face was one of frustration.
{ "Hey, Neo-kun, can I ask you something?"
"Ask away."
"Are you in any way…related to Daizen Shizaki…?"
"Related?" }
They both have the same, exact scent.
"Something has been off about him....actually, both him and Neo-kun. I don't know exactly what it is, though. Anyway, I'm worried about him, just a little bit. But...he should be alright."
He then shook his head and smiled at Yukino.
"Well, still up for a man-to-man trip around Pandora City?"
"O-Of course! Ready when you are!"
He got up and responded with a smile of his own.
"Alright! This is gonna be awesome!"
***
Stepping out from the small, open doors of a carriage, the duo stood on the stone pavement. After thanking the carriage-rider, they watched it move along and then turned to face around them.
Crowds moved along at an industrious pace, dwarfing the two visitors while shops, restaurants, and other buildings towered over them from their right and left. Any wrong step and they could accidentally bounce into a passer-by.
W-Woah, this is intense...
Yukino tensed up as he felt sudden anxiety in the presence of tight spaces between crowds. He tried to stay as close to King as he possibly could.
"Let's keep moving forward for now!"
Nodding in agreement, Yukino followed his lead.
After walking for a while and admiring the surroundings, they casually walked into various public buildings to see what had lied within.
A Mythical Beast Artifact store.
"Woaaaah!"
They strolled by the many paper-looking painted scrolls with signs and prices next to them that displayed the name of each beast.
Reaching for his pocket, King brought out a tied leather pouch. Untying it, he brought out fifteen gold coins and placed them on the desk of the tall, rugged store handler.
"I'll take the baby Spinax Artifact, please."
"Sure thing.....right, that's the exact amount. Here ya go, lad."
"Thanks!"
He carefully rolled the painted paper into a small pouch that he had slung over his shoulder and the duo waved goodbye as they left.
"If there's anything that you would like to buy, you can always tell me to stop and head into the building."
"Th-Thank you....although..."
He managed to eye a wine shop up ahead.
How about....we get a drink first?"
"Oh?"
***
Both Yukino and King sat down at the only two seats of the wine shop's front desk.
Various people sat at the back where the two big wooden doors had closed, about fifteen in total.
A lady had made her way to greet the two. Noticing Yukino's distinct facial features, she froze for a split second, but maintained her kind expression as King stayed close to him with a warm smile.
"N-Nice to meet you both! I'm Humeya Kino, and welcome to my wine shop! We have a list of many different specialties that we offer. Would you like to have any of these?
She handed over a small list and both Yukino and King peered into it.
"I'll take the first one, along with the dinner special."
"Same here, thank you."
"No problem! Just a moment."
Instead of having different wines presented right next to her, she walked into a back room and closed the door.
King, a bit interested in Yukino's suggestion of drinking wine, posed a statement of curiosity.
"I had no clue that you liked wine."
"Haha....yeah, I guess I enjoy it a lot."
"Do you take it a lot while at home?"
"Oh, no...not at all, my mom would kill me if I constantly drank too much in front of her face. Same with my dad."
King nearly burst out laughing, and Yukino bowed his head in shame.
"I see...which region do you live in specifically?"
"I….can't say exactly, but it's somewhere close to Eldora Plains, where elves and half-elves like me reside in hiding. I had to travel from there to the region close to Sekoto to get to the Royal Guild."
"Interesting. I actually never believed that elves lived in Aldranza until you showed up. Sorry about that."
"Well...it's fine, really...we're pretty rare, due to the history of the Inter-Continental War with Dragonia. Most of us moved to Dragonia, along with Demis and demi-humans, so it makes sense that you would think that."
Yukino was slowly becoming more comfortable when speaking, as his voice did not stammer as much when he had first met King and the others in Kiyotai's carriage. That was something that King himself had begun to notice.
"Please don't mind me asking, Yukino, but why did you want to join the Royal Guild? I mean....you don't really look like someone that relishes adventure and fights and stuff like that, and it isn't ideal for you to risk your life coming out here when many people hate you guys...."
Both Yukino and King were now deep in conversation. They could not hear the footsteps that advanced towards them..
"Ah...I wanted to prove myself to my family that I could handle the outside world and change people's perspective on us by becoming the first half-elf to become a powerful and renowned adventurer. You see...when you are a rare race, the idea of prejudice and hate towards you is great, and so...they all try to stay in isolation. But I wanted to go out and explore, and help the status of my people. So....here I am. I'm surprised that they allowed me to leave peacefully, knowing the dangers that could await me..
"That's cool. So-"
The door in front of them swung open. The mistress had returned with their plates and cups resting on both of her palms.
"Well, here is your-"
Her eyes opened and they instantly widened with fear.
She was not looking at Yukino and King.
She was staring behind them.
Before she could move, a thin blade of red sliced through the air, and slashed right into her throat as she collapsed, the food and wind dropping and crashing onto the ground in a deafening noise.
With their eyes on her, King and Yukino stared in horror. They could not look behind them, although they also began to hear slashes and screams of many behind them, with what seemed to be the noise of large pops and snaps, as if twigs and branches were being broken into. A moment of aiming to perceive what had happened flashed in their minds with a haunting resonance.
And then...
"My, oh my, have I startled you both?"
The seductive voice of a woman spoke with a smooth, slow, and soothing voice.
The figure had leaned over with her mouth just close enough to the ears of King and Yukino, and both of her hands were wrapped around the shoulders of the frozen duo, one arm around King's left shoulder, the other around Yukino's right.
With the red lipstick painted on her small lips, she spoke.
"What has occurred is only a greeting of love to you both, so please don't be afraid. After all, fate has guided me to our meeting."
A frightening chill never experienced before ran through the skin of Satou Yukino, as he and King suddenly began to smell the pungent scent of fresh blood. It emanated the room, causing Yukino to look behind him with the corner of his eyes, just slightly turning his head in a paralyzing wave of fear.
Save us.
Everyone was dead.
Help us.
Decapitated bodies lay on the floor, with many of them being slashed open and snapped in two as blood spilled out profusely. The walls were dressed in a scarlet red, and the floor was in a mess of splattered brain matter and organs, and blood covered them all.
H-Help us…someone.
All desks remained intact, all chairs as well. Only the state of the people behind them had changed. In a sight of terror, Yukino started to choke and tried to cover his mouth, nauseous and petrified. It was evident that King knew what had happened behind him as well, as perspiration built up and he held in breath and closed his eyes, only managing to whisper in agony.
"W-Wh-What do....y-you w-w-want...?"
"Aaaaaaahhh....the million gold questionnnnn~...."
Her slow speech drifted into their ears with a horrifying aura that they could barely comprehend.
Liberate us.
"The only reason that you both are alive is because I need you both to tell the tale of my presence and my companions' to everyone....and especially...."
She stopped and paused before she gave a devilish smile.
"Daizen."
Yukino's eyes shot up.
"Shizaki."
King could hardly breathe.
They had not managed to see their attacker's face the entire time due to fright.
Shizaki.
Daizen Shizaki.
"Who....are...you....?"
Both Yukino and King glanced to see her face simultaneously, and they instantly shuddered.
Dressed in a black and bright scarlet red dress was this woman with a beautiful allure, while her face reflected eyes that shone with killing intent. Her entire body was covered in human blood.
Save us. Help us. Liberate us.
In the middle of the bloody scene around her, she grinned while her teeth flashed. She spoke.
"Behold, the Second of the Nine Circles of Hell.....Velakora, of Bloodlust."
***
ATONE FOR OUR SOULS, DAIZEN SHIZAKI.
-----------------------------------------
(Chapter 36: Circle of Hell, of (Blood)Lust.)