A little over a week had passed since their meeting with the sleepy lord atop the tallest tower and despite being promised unlimited wealth, there was little opportunity to spend it. A terrible storm circled the city and after a few days, everything came to a complete halt. Water was the only thing that rushed through the once busy streets, save for the foolhardy or the brave, although it was hard to tell them apart in the downpour.
Rain pelted Kuro from all directions and if it wasn’t for the new equipment Milly had him try out he would have been soaked from head to toe. Only now, his exposed hands and face stung from the chilling air. Finished with his mission, he was glad to finally arrive back at the inn eager to warm himself. Only a few patrons trying to wait out the weather remained as a great number of people left after the first few days. At their usual table, Milly was fiddling with several devices that looked like her handheld lights.
“You were right. It’s been five days since the storms started and the same clouds are still circling the center of town,” complained Kuro as he emerged from his hood. "It's like they're being kept there by some force, but there isn't any magic strong enough to keep it there unless…"
"Unless there’s an endless source to draw from. You felt it too didn’t you? When you used it?”
“Yeah, it felt endless. It was like I could take over the world.”
Silence weighed on Kuro and Milly as guilt crawled on their skin. The last few days had been tough on Milly. The storms washing away their dream of starting a lab was the least of her worries.
“You know… we could just leave and cut our losses here. I’m sure there are other places that we could start a lab,” Kuro said attempting to break the tension. “As long as we’re together, we can make it work.”
Milly’s hands stopped working for her to grab onto the sides of her coat tightly, “I can’t just leave knowing we had a part in causing all this. It wouldn’t be the right thing to do.”
“Whoa there, that’s some serious adventurer talk there,” Kuro teased while resting his hand on her shoulder.
A smile broke through while she shoved Kuro away, “Shut up… If there was no chance of success I’d say, ‘Let’s just run,’ but I really think we can do this. Or maybe you’re rubbing off on me, I don’t know. I’m more surprised that you suggested we get out of here this time.”
“Well, my priorities may have shifted lately…”
“You don’t mean me do you?”
“Yes.”
Kuro’s stern and unflinching face in his response turned Milly’s face bright red, "So creepy! I'm scared!"
"Good… good… a little fear will keep you on your toes for what we have to do."
All the canisters Milly worked on were split into two separate bags. One set for each of them. They had one simple objective, take back the bowl and get it away from whomever was causing the catastrophic weather. To do that they had to get to the eye of the storm atop the highest point in Evanstone.
"These jackets that you made are pretty amazing you know. The material is so light and warm," Kuro complimented as they traveled.
"I intended to use this synthetic fabric to replace our tents, but I never got the chance. Can you believe it was made by combining two chemicals? At the boundary where they met, they combined into a solid you could just pull out like a string!"
Yeah, that's awesome- Wait. Somethings not right here."
After a rough journey, they finally arrived at the square leading into city hall. What was once full of life and music only had the rhythmic beating of rainfall. They expected some resistance too, but the guards that once denied Milly entry were also nowhere to be seen. Unlike last time, entering would be no trouble.
Water flooded into the first floor as Kuro pushed the heavy wooden doors open. The inner chamber had a faint blue glow along the stonework showing there was not a soul to be seen inside. Much of their surroundings were even more strange and eerie in the dark. Luckily the way to the magical lift was a simple matter of retracing their steps. Once inside the circular chamber however there was no sign of how to make it work. Despite how much they searched, all they could find was more glowing blue cobblestone.
"So how do you suppose we go up?" Kuro asked, scratching his head hoping to shake an answer loose.
Milly followed the stonework once more before she let out a long sigh, "Maybe they have a staircase somewhere?"
In sync, they both shot each other a look of disgust. After a quick search of the area, they found a set of stairs leading upwards not too far away from the lift. As they stared at the endless flight of steps, they charged with all their might. They got up to the third floor before they found themselves gasping for air.
“Why… did we even try… to do that?” Kuro wheezed.
“By the time we get to the top… we’ll already be dead.”
“Let’s just go back down… I have an idea… it's just a bit risky…"
After a brief rest, they made their way back to the lift chamber. In the center of it, Kuro took the staff and shaped it into something resembling a dinner plate before he placed it under his foot.
"When I count to three I want you to jump as high as you can" Kuro ordered. "One… two… three!"
From wall to wall, the black disk expanded under Kuro’s foot just in time for Milly to land on top. Slowly at first, the circular chamber’s stonewalls began to descend as they rose higher.
“Whoa, so convenient. You’re getting good at using this thing,” praised Milly.
“I’m glad you think so, it’s not as easy as it looks. If I’m not careful I could end us squashing us like bugs or dropping us out of the air,” Kuro responded, with the staff shaking slightly.
“I’ll let you concentrate then,” Milly peeped.
“Thanks, keep a light pointed upwards for me will you?”
Although half joking, a bead of sweat rolled off of Kuro’s cheek. He tried to match the pace the lift took before, but with no windows and only a few doors appearing within the walls every so often it was hard to tell how high they were. Within a few moments, the ceiling came into view having Kuro stop at the nearest door.
Beyond the wooden frame was the same terrifyingly high hallway that overlooked the city. The view once again amazed Kuro, what was once a bustling city was now partially submerged by the relentless storm but still amazed him nonetheless. Pushing forward, he recalled his weapon while Milly scouted ahead. The Lord’s office was unchanged from how they remembered it save for one striking detail. An opening was carved into the wall behind where the desk sat that led to a set of stairs upwards.
They climbed until they reached a platform far above the clouds. Two figures stood in the middle of a shining circle of arcane power. Energy was being siphoned from the crystal bowl to a young distinguished man by a woman with navy blue hair. After such a long climb, Kuro and Milly rested out of view while trying to listen to their distant voices.
"The ritual is soon to be completed, my general! Soon you will be restored to your full glory!" cheered Trini.
"Yes, at long last we can end this facade and be free of these wretched lands. We must defeat that accursed hero before he gains the power to threaten our Lord."
"He should be arriving soon thanks to my summons. Our stage is finally set. He won't stand a chance now that we've turned the entire city to our advantage."
Trini and the general surged with magical power transforming their bodies. Their skin turned pale blue while gills emerged from their necks. On each arm, sharp fins sprouted.
"There’s no mistaking it. They're demons," gasped Kuro. "The first actual demon I ever have to face and it's one of the Demon Lord’s Tristar Generals."
Humanoid demons were rare opponents for adventurers and fabled terrors for all children within the Empire. They were rarely seen away from the frontlines and preferred to use demonic beasts to do their fighting for them. One thing that everyone knew for certain was that even if all demons were powerful magicians who didn't need elemental gemstones, the generals far surpassed them.
"Trust me, we've got this," Milly insisted. "Just stick to the plan."
"Sure, but how do we get out of here after we grab the bowl?"
"We'll figure that out when we get there. Are you ready?"
All Kuro could muster together was a shrug while he pulled his hood over his head. With a hushed groan, he circled the two demons and jumped into their view.
“Who are you!?” The general called out.
As dramatically as he could, Kuro shuffled into several different fighting poses before settling into the flashiest one he could think of, “The calmer of the storms, Spider Hunter!”
“Hmph, what could you possibly do to stop us?”
“Hunter net!” Kuro yelled as he pulled out a canister and fired at the general.
A net shot out and wrapped around the general as Milly fired hers at Trini from behind. Both of their targets fell to the ground writhing.
“You think this will stop us?” yelled the general.
“Foolish humans, just wait until we’re free!” Trini threatened.
Milly gave Kuro a look and he instantly knew what to do. In unison, they both pulled out canister after canister and shot at the demons until they were wrapped in a cocoon of nets. With their targets subdued, Milly grabbed the bowl and led the way back down the stairs. As they ran, a flash of blue reflected on the walls.
Comments (0)
See all