Chapter XXIX: The Departure

A massive crowd from all throughout the town of Quinholm was gathered around the town plaza. The Alkalde himself was up on the podium, about to make an important announcement while the people were noisily shuffling about to find a better view of him. Nash was in that crowd too, thinking that she could just shapeshift and shove everyone away. With the Alkalde on stage were four Elementals, each standing, awkwardly wondering how to compose themselves, especially Solis.

 

Nope-Nope-Nope-Nope…

 

I’m not gonna break- I’m not gonna break…

 

Running through his head were words that he tells himself when he’s in situations like this.

 

Tired of waiting, the Alkalde begins without waiting for a microphone to be delivered for him.

 

“Brothers and Sisters!

 

“For years, Humanity has cowered in fear of these Demons.

 

“Ever since the Equilibrium Gate has been broken, no man has ever slept without fear again.

 

“You have seen what they have done to our fellow people. You have watched them slaughter the families of great nations.

 

“But no longer!

 

“Last night, these four valiantly came to our aid when we thought all is lost!

 

“Though their powers are incomplete, their strength is beyond our measure that [1]even a devil may cry!

 

“But even so, their job is not yet finished.

 

“Therefore, my fellow people, I ask whomever has the ability to join the ranks towards the great border that separates the two kingdoms.

 

“These chosen few require our assistance in hopes to find their other predestined companions.

 

“They will be the ones to send these Demons back to where they belong.

 

“I cannot promise anyone to have a safe trip home, but in God’s name, I swear to whoever takes up arms with me shall receive his just reward in Paradise!

 

“Now, who will join me in the heat of battle on and beyond the Plaguelands!”

 

The Alkalde’s ruthless charm was able to sway most of the crowd. You see what a few words can do? Elias is pretty much used to the Alkalde’s incorrigible choice of words even though he’s sometimes caught in it himself, and he’s really ticked that people are easily taken along by the Alkalde's current. He shows compassion for people, nonetheless, but only because it’s in God’s favor and not because it’s the right thing to do. I don’t know if that’s morally correct; what do you think, dear reader?

 

As the crowd roars with its enthusiasm for glorious combat, the Alkalde nods his head as if pleased with the number of front-line-fodder he has, so he announces the day of their departure.

 

“Tomorrow, we march to the cliffs of Weiss. I pray you all fight to the bitter end with valor.”

 

But the cries for battle were silenced when someone raised his hand and spoke up.

 

“Can’t these four just go there on their own?”, he resents. The Alkalde turns to him with an unamused look. “I am grateful that you saved our town, but can’t you guys, just... you know, use your own powers instead of relying on Human hands?”

 

“Yeah!”, some other guy from the crowd that looks like a blacksmith speaks up, “You people were powerful enough to slay an army of Acolytes in one night.  We barely have enough minerals to make magical weapons, Alkalde. We'd have to rely on Atlanta Corporation for battlements. Wouldn’t it be easier for both our sides if we didn't fight?”

 

“Indubitably!”, an elderly woman voices out in a crude tone. “You even have the legendary Credo with you! I’m sure the man who has slain the Impaler could kill an army of Demons alone. In addition, you have a trained Tearju Assassin and a Slayer with you!”

 

Mea’s eyebrows twitched a little after that last statement. How did she know about the assassins? Well, maybe it’s because she’s beyond sixty years.

 

The Alkalde opposes and cuts off the next person who was about to voice out his opinion.

 

“No one said you had to join, my good people. That is why I asked for volunteers.” He tries to smooth things over. “Only those who are willing to make a small sacrifice.”

 

“We don’t have to sacrifice anyone, Alkalde!” The first guy speaks up again. “Who the hell do you expect to protect our families if we take more than half of our capable warriors? I, for one, do not want to go risk my life out there. If these four are as powerful as you say they are then they don’t need our help. I’d rather be working my a*s off all day prospecting for-“

 

“So you’re saying you don’t want to make an effort?”

 

The Darkness Elemental, herself, came forward and calmly yet loudly stopped him with a question.

 

Mea has this false persona she uses to make people think she’s just a tsundere type, but she’s not. When somebody strikes her nerve, she goes all out.

 

“No... but, you guys should probably manage-“

 

“That’s strange”, a dangerous look in Mea’s eyes ran right through him. “Didn’t the Alkalde make it clear that our powers are not complete yet? It seems as if you want us to die a horrible death at the hands of these Demons.”

 

“That’s not what I said! I just didn’t want anyone to leave-“

 

“So now you’re concerned about these people’s well-being? I don’t know if you’ve been asleep for the past sixteen years, but nobody’s safe as long as there’s Demons out. Sooner or later, every person standing with you is going to die if they keep going on with their daily lives, so you’re welcome to wait for your death to come if you want.”

 

She then refers to everyone in the crowd. 

 

“That goes for everyone. The rest of you who want to stand up and fight, follow the Alkalde!”

 

The crowd was quiet for a while and somewhat discouraged to cheer because of Mea’s attitude, until the Alkalde intervenes.

 

“Whoever fights valiantly gets a piece of the Fruit!”

 

His audience did not react to his proposal, so he adds:

 

“[2]The Fruit of Grisaia!”

 

An eruption of enthusiasm comes back to the crowd. Why, you ask? Because that fruit is the most priceless fruit in the Known Regions and the closest the Humans have to ambrosia. Its flavor is to kill for, and the Alkalde is said to possess a tree in a secret area of his house. I don’t know if it’s true, though.

 

Mea withdraws from her place and goes back in line with the others.

 

“You didn’t have to do that, you know?”, Lux teases her.

 

“Urusai…”

 

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“You mind filling me in on what’s happened while I was out?”

 

Solis and Credo were currently fixing their stuff in preparation for their departure. The Solar Elemental had a lot of stuff with him and he’s having doubts on if he should take them with him.

 

“Well, we asked the Alkalde to send a message to the other cities.”

 

“For what?”

 

“We’re not gonna be able to seal the Demons if we can’t even get close to their walls.” He unzips a small pouch and finds Mea’s “books” and zips it back immediately at the sight of the book cover.

 

“I don’t get it.”

 

“The Demons have a base, south of the Lower Kingdom”, he explains. “It’s gonna take more than eight Elementals to punch through all that, especially now that they know we’re alive.”

 

“Wait... They thought we were dead?”

 

Credo heaves a sigh then sits on the floor, thinking it would be the perfect time to explain it to him.

 

“Sixteen years ago...”

 

Seeing that it might be a long story, Solis sits down as well.

 

“Anion was suddenly consumed by a fire that came directly from Underworld, more recently known as Hell, and the country and its people were destroyed. But there were a few survivors.”

 

“Yeah, one for each of the eight Primal Elements, right?”

 

“No. There’s a little more to it than that.”

 

“Really?”

 

...Really? I did not know that. Did you know that, writer?

 

“More than eight babies that were born that day weren’t killed.”

 

“You mean... there’s more of us?”

 

“I don’t know, but if there were, they’d probably possess one of the sub Elements. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t even know that they're Elementals.”

 

“How do you know all this?”

 

“Anna’s father used to tell us stories. I never believed in any of them until I got to see the horrors first hand.”

 

“What happened?” Solis’ curiosity takes over.

 

“The village I was raised in got torn down by a Demonic plague... I’m the only one who survived because I was immune to it.”

 

“And that’s why you became a Demon Hunter?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Wow. That’s pretty badass.”

 

Credo smiles and gets up on his feet.

 

“I guess you could say that.”

 

Thinking that he jumped onto a touchy subject, Solis changed the topic.

 

“So how are we going to find the others?”

 

“Nash says there are two Elementals that live in Origami Canyon. They’re looking for the other Elementals too.”

 

“That’s where we’re headed?”

 

“Yeah, and once we get there, we’ll see if Lux can detect anything.”

 

“Alright.” Solis stands up and points his fist at Credo. “Let’s make our parents proud.”

 

“Wherever they are.”

 

Epic brofist ensued.

 

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Nash was staring off at a distance toward the setting sun between the slant-height of two mountains. Her hair was beautifully waving through the pace of the dusty wind while she leans on the railings on top of the house she just bought. The houses here are really cheap because the location and terrain around it aren’t really ideal. On top of that, it was really small and it could only comfortably fit one person. The only thing nice about it is the view you get when on top of the flat roof top.

 

“We’re ready to leave.”

 

Credo comes out from the hole where you can climb up with a ladder.

 

“Come to say goodbye?”, Nash teases him. “Or, maybe you’ve changed your mind and come to invite me?”

 

“I won’t let you”, he answers playfully.

 

“Eh... but won’t you miss me?”, she clings to him.

 

“Are you kidding? I’m sick of you.”

 

She pinches his cheek even though she knew he wasn’t being serious.

 

“Ow...”

 

Nash smiles at him, but then does something unexpected... It's been a long time coming, but right now, she felt overwhelmed to see Credo living his life exactly the way he said he would. A lot of doubts were swimming in her head about his well-being, and she thought one of these days he'd just give up fighting and start living his life... But he didn't. She thought that maybe when he's tired of this pointless struggle she could be there for him... But he never stopped. She knows her feelings won’t get through to him no matter what she does because it’s obvious that she’ll only be his childhood friend and nothing more than that, and there may just be no ending between them.

 

It’s not like I even have a shot for him. He’ll never see me as someone he could be with... So I guess this will be fine for now.

 

“Pabaon.”

 

After saying this, she taps her lips lightly on his cheek and releases him.

 

It took him awhile to figure out what that was, and when he does... he blushes?

 

Wow.

 

That’s the first time I’ve seen him do that.

 

He wobbly steps backward, causing him to fall off the hole he climbed out of and hit his head.

 

Thud.

 

“Whoa, are you okay!”

 

And.

 

While all of this was going on, Lanette saw it all.

 

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“Hope this works.”

 

Elias and his sister, Maise, were at the back-alley part of Quinholm. Beneath them was a gulch where a long aircraft was lying dormant. It almost looked like a cruise ship if it weren’t for the metallic wings possibly made of[3]Daora Webbing. It had about four thrusters at the back part and two more underneath which are twice as big. Its hull was pretty huge, enough to fit in two[4]Reavers to perform a [4]Reaver Drop while its frontal part looked like a fire wyvern’s face. Elias named it “The [5]Sylphid”, named after [5]Tabitha’s Familiar.

 

He peers through the top and sides of the ship to confirm its readiness and pulls the lever.

 

Two axels on either side of the ship started gradually rotating to higher and higher velocities, causing its wings to spread out and turbines start working. The lever he pulled was a trigger for the main outlet, Cryxylum, and as the substance came bursting tons of energy through fission, the gears on the ship kept on charging, making it possible for lift-off.

 

“Well, is it working?”, Maise asks.

 

“Yeah, two-hundred revolutions per second will make the cut.”

 

“Whoa! That looks awesome!”, Solis enters a scene like [6]Finn when he saw the secret entrance to Billy’s place.

 

“I can feel the breeze!” Tenenbaum stands on Solis’ head with arms wide open, taking in all that wind fanning from the ship.

 

“Are you our pilot?”, Credo asks when he enters with the rest of them.

 

“Yeah.” He reaches out his hand for a shake. “Elias. You’re Credo, right?”

 

“Yes.” He shakes his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

 

“I’m Maise”, his sibling interjects. “Elias’ half-sister and future wife-“

 

“No, she’s just my half-sister.”

 

“Right...”

 

Hello, 911? Yeah, I got a bit of a situation here regarding a [7]siscon whose work I’m editing. Could you come down here and check if this guy is really a legitimate writer or if he just wants to promote brother and sister incest? I’ve been seeing some other weird stuff on his writing lately too. I don’t know his name but he probably has some records, right? Thanks.

 

I hope the writer gets suspended for what he’s doing.

 

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At the cockpit of the ship, a lot of levers with gauges were scattered around the control panel. The mechanism was designed to be user-friendly and easy to use which makes it possible to be governed by a one-man pilot. Seated on a small chair in the confined space was Elias, navigating through the path that they had to take while preparing for lift-off.

 

Meanwhile, the passengers were seated in a rather small area. It looks really big outside, but 80% of that stuff is probably used for aviation functions. There were two columns of seats on both sides of the hull with four rows each, forming up to 16 seats. At the first two columns of the first row, Mea and Solis were seated with the assassin taking the window seat. She was going to read the next volume of AkiSora that Nash lent her if Solis hadn’t sat next to her. It’d be a bad example for an [8]Onee-san to be reading stuff like that, so now she has to deal with it while he noisily plays around with the [9]automated pitfall-trap that he hasn’t used.

 

“Mendokusai…”

 

“Put on your seatbelts; we’re going up.”

 

The sound of the captain’s voice rustily cracked from the speakers.

 

A tumultuous sound of steel and flares started clanging out from beneath the passengers. The whistling sound of the countdown for lift-off started to pierce our main-character’s ears. Anna shuffles around her seat, trying to find something.

 

“This plane doesn’t have any seatbelts!”

 

Well, what do you expect? It’s made out of scraps.

 

Suddenly, a loud blast reverberates from the thrusters and lifts the entire thing. Their seats started to shake as the altitude went higher, causing Anna to unintentionally cling onto her 'knight' while hysterically wailing. Credo tried to calm her down but... I don’t think that’s gonna work. A seat behind them was Lanette seemingly bothered by what’s happening. How does she keep quiet like that? Maybe it has something to do with the incident earlier?

 

“Hey, didn’t you say you wanted the seat next to the window?”, Credo protests with mitigation.

 

“NO-NO-NO! GET ME DOWN! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF TRANSPORT SHIP IS THIS? I WANT OFF THIS THING RIGHT NOW!!!!!”

 

Holy crap... Her voice is louder than the engine’s blaring. Even the writer can hear her.

 

Will you tell her to keep quiet? I’m studying for my finals.

 

Not to worry, though. Credo found an effective way to shut her up.

 

As she dauntlessly throws a fit, she accidentally hits Credo in the gut, pissing him off. He’s had enough of it so he pulls her face to his chest, gradually lowering her intense state.

 

“You gonna shut-up now?”, he whispers on her ear as the sound of the plane starts to dominate the environment again.

 

“Mhmm…” She gives a muffled answer while burying her face on his upper torso.

 

You may think this is cute, dear reader, but it’s not. As you can’t see, she’s not blushing. It kind of makes her look like a hungry baby who just got fed her bottle. Now she’s quiet because Credo let her suck on his love juice...

 

That sounded so wrong... Sorry.

 

Once the plane reached an altitude of 2000 feet, the ride started to go on smoothly. Anna... Anna actually fell asleep and now Credo’s letting her lay down on two seats with Lanette’s help. As soon as Credo transfers to the seat behind him next to his maid, Maise comes out the cockpit and announces:

 

“It should be smooth sailing from here, guys. It’ll take about half a day for us to get to Origami Canyon before dawn so make sure to rest up. Death Valley isn’t much of a friendly place.”

 

She turns around after that obviously cryptic statement and goes back to the cockpit while nagging at her half-brother for making such a fragile sound-system.

 

Mea suddenly felt something obnoxiously struggling to her left. She turns her head and finds Solis shaking in his seat with one hand holding tightly on the four Anima which were also obviously scared to death and the other hand gripping on the arm rest. The [9]pitfall trap he was holding onto earlier actually triggered and wrapped itself around the seat behind him when he dropped it.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“I- I’m fine! I’m totally fine.”

 

Dude, the tone of your voice doesn’t fine.

 

“Then stop shaking.”

 

“I can’t...”

 

Mea sighs.

 

“You’re still afraid of heights?”

 

Solis exaggeratedly chuckles like a fool, but then gives up immediately.

 

“Haha...hahaha... yes.”

 

Following Credo’s method, she also does something to calm her seatmate down by placing her hand on his right hand. 

 

[10]It’s super effective!

 

Solis slightly blushes.

 

You’re getting the wrong idea, man! She’s trying to be a good [8]Onee-san! It doesn’t literally mean she loves you when she does that! Don’t fall into it! I said don’t fall into it! What are you doing! Don’t fall in love with her!

 

Oh, okay. You’ve fallen in love with her. Well, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

 

The afterglow of the sunset is beginning to fade and Mea’s mind started to drift into the past as she gazes out the window.

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1. Quote by Lady from Devil May Cry 3.

2. Anime/ Visual Novel(R-18) by Front Wing. 

3. Resource item in Monster Hunter.

4. A tank type unit of the Protoss from Starcraft. Reaver Drop is a play style to neutraliz the enemy base.

5. Sylphid is Tabitha's familiar from Zero no Tsukaima.

6. Billy is Finn's hero from Adventure Time.

7. Means mnemonic for sister complex. Basically people who are into their sisters.

8. Something to call your older sister in Japanese.

9. Trap item in Monster Hunter.

10. Game dialogue from Pokemon games when your attacks are effective.

Reviews

[❀Subaru_Nyaa!
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A fragile airship reminds me of Itward's ship from Fran Bow since that ship was sketchy