Aria can’t believe her eyes. The ease at which Kuvon ended that innocent man’s life was unnerving. Sure, she is no saint, but she doesn’t kill innocent people. She looks at the man again,” You… Why?”

Kuvon sighs, casually twirling his blade. Casually twirling his blade?! “He was being an unnecessary bother. What care do I have for faireborne who dehumanized and pushed out my kind?” the words bite into Elias as he speaks to Aria.

Luc chuckles,” Of course, now. What’ll it be, lanai hama? Will you surrender or should we just kill everyone now.” The screaming from the other people echoes against the wall as they all scramble for the front door. Luc can only laugh, looking at these roaches as the scamper for safety. He creates an orb of dark energy and throws it at the entrance. Everyone ducks, screaming and crying.

“Shut up! Sit quietly and wait until we kill you, gods!” he snaps. These salgrin are so annoying, crying and screaming as if that’ll help them. Luc sighs, facing Kuvon. They could have avoided all of this if they didn’t let that girl escape. He inwardly groans. She’s proving to be a bit more of a nuisance.

Aria sets Evritt down next to Elias, stretching her arm. This is going to be a bit more difficult. She should have just plucked Elias on her other shoulder and dashed out of the building with zero care.

Her silver eyes glance over at the other hostages. The group of people, mainly women and elders, look at her with scorn. She then glances at the body. She could just leave the people, but that would not sit well on her conscience. She sighs, annoyed at herself and then takes a stance in front of the crowd.

“Take her and leave us alone!” one woman shouted.

Another huffs,” Turn yourself in girl!”

Elias glances at Aria, who clenches her fist and takes a deep breath. They’re saying all these things to her and she’s just taking it.

Aria growls, her eyes glowing silver and bring her fists up, ready for a fight. She nudges Elias and Evritt back, Be careful. Protect them over there. They both and move over to the other people.

She takes a step forward. “I’m not going with you, kivdiner.” Her voice growls, only serving to make Kuvon more ready for a fight. He smirks, his fangs glinting and then throws his blade at her. Her eyes widen at the ease that he has with his sword. She huffs and leaps over the sword and runs at the man. Fire engulfs her fists as she readies her attack. Suddenly, she notices a bit of movement and flattens her fist into a palm. Luc runs at her from the side, hoping to catch her off guard, to no avail.

Aria slices her hand in front of him, the flames licking against his own skin. He sucks his teeth, grunting against the slight sting. Bringing her other fist, Aria punches the ground in front of Kuvon, forcing a huge slab of stone to pierce through the ground. Kuvon’s eyes widen before they narrow. Realization flickers through his golden eyes as Aria forces her palm forward. The stone rams into him before he could react and begins shoving him forcefully towards the wall.

Kuvon grunts, digging his heels and pushing back against the stone. He successfully stops the stone and rips it apart. His eyes glare at the girl before flitting over to his so-called “partner” Huh.

Luc has her preoccupied, giving her punch after punch after punch. She groans, barely able to dodge them. He is toying with her and she isn’t fond of being toyed with. He grabs her collar, but she tightens her hold on his wrist and burns his hand.

A loud groan escapes his lips as he lets go. “Why, you little…” he snarls, his claws sharpening and his eyes glowing brighter than before. He laughs, his voice a bit crazed. It echoes off the walls, the sheer volume shaking the souls of everyone in range.

Elias gulps, watching the fight. This is not what he had signed up for. He can barely follow them by sight. Evritt on the other hand, seems to be enjoying this a little too much.

Aria jumps backwards, only be caught by a punch from Kuvon. She stumbles, her back hitting the desk. She barely gets a second of rest, when Kuvon launches at her, a wide grin on his face. Aria punches bursts of air at him, leaping over the desk and taking steps back. Kuvon steps closer, picking up his sword which has been laying on the ground.

“You… proya are a challenge,” he muses,” I’m going to have to stop playing around.” His admittance has her fuming. Is she some type of joke?

Her eyes flicker. He sees a flash of red pass through her irises, which has him a bit confused. Aria gets a lucky punch in, punching him in his pretty face. Wait. Not pretty. Ugly face.

Kuvon sputters, not expecting the full actual punch coupled with a burst of air. He raises his hand up to touch his cheek, hissing at the sting. This girl actually punched him successfully. A smirk forms on his face and he raises an eyebrow. “Well, maybe instead of proya, you’re a garyo.”

Aria feels her face heat up. Is this man… sweet talking with her? She lets growl,” Stop it!” He chuckles, becoming a bit more lighthearted. He knows she’s not to be underestimated, but he wants to play with her a bit more.

Aria’s glare darkens at the easy grin on his face, but before she could do anything, a rush of pain soars through her back. She cries out, her eyes wide. It feels like a rush of electricity piercing through her all the way to the bone. She can feel herself slipping into unconsciousness, but she wills herself to stay awake. Her eyes turn red glowing brightly, almost as if she’s been possessed by a ghost. She growls, trying to keep herself together.

She moves her hands, pulling them apart and smashing down on the ground. A hole behind the hostages appears, the rocks falling behind them. “Get out!” she growls out. They did not need to be told more than once as all of the people scramble out of the building. She could make out more voices from outside. She glares over her shoulder at Luc, who seems to have a look of surprise. Which is unlike him. he is not one to openly show any emotion that isn’t chill and unbothered.

Aria kicks Luc in the chest, sending him into the wall and then she punches Kuvon in the chest, with what little strength she had left. Which apparently was a lot because he coughs out blood, sinking to his knees.

“Likai,” Luc curses, feeling his body shake around from the impact. There is an annoying ringing in his ears and he can feel his back aching. He growls, his eyes trying to stay open as the two children run up to his target. His sight blurs from the pain and he scoffs at his “partner”. He seemed to be giving the girl too much attention for his liking.

He and Kuvon lock eyes with each other, and they both glare. “You have some explaining to do, daemin.” Kuvon snaps. Everything is not making sense. He inferred that his target was some survivor from the Eliari clan, but the lania? He was not told this, and it brings to question why? What were these people planning.

Elias and Evritt run up to Aria as she begins to pass out. They both catch her before she could fall to the ground. “We got you. Let’s get out while they’re down. Civics are showing up very soon.” Elias whispers. Aria twitches, her eyes quickly returning to normal. She glances up at Elias.

“You should have run,” she croaks, her eyes closing. Her breathing slows as she slips into unconsciousness.

Evritt gulps, struggling to hold up his side of her. She’s literally leaning over his head, her chin resting on top of him. “Can we pick up the speed, Ev,” Elias whispers, as they slip out the side door. Right into an alleyway. The sun had moved over to the other side, making the nearby building cast a large shadow over them. They walk further down the alleyway, trying to find another way around.

Elias gulps. “I know there is an exit around here,” he mumbles, adjusting his glasses with his free hand. A groan from Aria has him trying to make her more comfortable on his shoulder.

“Well, let’s hurry, I can feel someone coming,” Evritt whispers. He can feel the presence of two different people moving towards them. What if it’s those two people who were after Aria? With her indisposed at the moment, they would be useless to her! He sighs, glancing at his brother.

Elias pauses, his eyes cutting to his brother in wariness. Again? Is it them again? It’s very evident that neither of them can fight anything so this is not the most ideal situation to be in. Is a time out an option? His mind is racing as he tries to think of any way that he could get them out of this dire situation. He doesn’t even feel the hand that wraps around his ankle. His eyes widen at the sudden jerk, but it’s too late to react.

His body quickly sinks into a shadow that had suddenly appeared, causing Evritt to stumble to the ground. Aria’s body crumples into a heap in front of Evritt and he winces, seeing her head hit the ground.

“Sorry!” he whispers, quickly lifting up her head. “Elias, what happened?” he asks, checking to make sure nothing is permanently damaged on Aria’s body. When he hears no answer, he furrows his brows. Elias is very quiet for someone who normally always has something to say. He looks up… to see nobody. “Elias?” he calls, his voice becoming frantic. Where did he go? Was this why they fell to the ground? Where on Allanus did he go?!

That presence that he felt itching against his brain was now clawing at it. It was so close it was practically next to them. He feels a hand grab the bottom of his shirt and he tenses. He glances back, seeing a dark olive toned hand gripping his shirt. The other hand grabs ahold of Aria’s jacket and suddenly, he feels a weight pulling him down. He is sinking into the ground, which should be impossible. He gasps out, fear covering his body like the inky mess that he and Aria are getting dragged into. He can’t even call out for help because his voice is gone! Is this what Elias was feeling? Is this what happened to him?!

 

~

 

Luc sighs, trying to stretch his sore body. She really has immense strength. It literally all seemed to release when her eyes switched from silver to red. He groans looking over at the mess that was the Arch Research Center of Logi.

“Hmm, they are not that smart. These salgri.” He snickers. All he had to do was flash his badge and they were able to get away with no problem. Lifting up is shirt, he rubs his face trying to think of what to say to his superior.

A growl reaches his ear and he barely has enough time to turn around and block a hit from Kuvon. his eyes glare darkly at him, before he takes his arm and rams it into Luc’s throat. The force pushes him against the wall, making Luc cough up a laugh.

“You need to tell me all the information I need for this, now daemin,” Kuvon snaps. “You did not say that my target was the guardian of the Eliari clan.” His golden-brown eyes flash in anger as he growls at the man. He was wholly unprepared for this… girl to be the lanai. Her power was stronger than he had anticipated. And this… man chose not to give them this information. When it could have been used to plan accordingly! “I should snap your neck right now,” he threatens.

Luc coughs up a grin, his eyes widening. “You really want to play this game, augim?” One thing is certain with this one: he has to be on alert for any attack from this guy. Grabbing ahold of Kuvon’s arm, he moves it from his neck, not even surprised at the strength he has. The man carries around a wide sword as an accessory!

“I want all the information now,” Kuvon snaps. He takes a step back, his muscles tightening as Luc rolls his shoulders.

He raises his eyebrow, walking towards him. An acidy smell wafts into Kuvon’s nose as he gets closer. It burns and he has to blink out tears. “You will get what information I deem important, augim. Undeiries?”

Kuvon growls. He can’t wait until he can slash his blade through Luc’s body. He doesn’t like the man. Not even one bit. “Crystal,” he snaps.