Chương 94: Minor Issue
Meanwhile, within the outskirts of Linuxinia...
The woman's long dark hair flew with the vivid pattern of the breeze. Her dark, chipped violet eyes loosely scanned the mountains covered with vegetation in wild luxuriance.
The moon shone brightly under the sparkling blanket of stars, the trees danced back and forth, the mountains scattered from shape to shape, all heavily distinct in their own reserve.
A mild, passive look fell on her face as she turned her head toward the glowing moon. The evening breeze caught the fluorescent scents of the woman and brushed against the tall grass field, traveling toward the crisp sparkling of the sea.
In a play of light gossip, she swung her hand in front of her face and negated.
"Such a baffling presentation of ecstasy. My my my, the sight is rather mesmerizing. I wonder…"
She inclined her head and slid down the slopes toward the open pathway that led to a hallway of trees. Her silk, plaid attire brushed against the dirt's hard surface toward the grass's soft bristles.
The woman shook her head and exhaled a breath of excitement as she rushed over the tall hills to the distant city.
"I sense a familiar presence…."
* * * * * * * *
Tables, chairs, and even bookshelves were scattered all around the room. Papers flew up, the walls cracked, and the lantern crashed against the solid ground. Ames' soft black paws slid against the floor, his slender tail stuck straight up as a chair skidded near him.
The black cat tilted upward and saw the bottom of the table loom above him. The situation grew disastrous. Asahi's voice bounced over the walls.
"It's your fault. Why did you even bring us here?"
Followed by scrambling and shuffling noises, Aletha's piercing screams bounced back.
"No, it's not!"
"Yes… it is!"
Ames' fleeting paws scurried over the ground, dodging the clashing giants over him. His glacial-chipped aqua eyes darted directly to the door, and swiftly he grew agile and made it just in time before the table had crushed him.
What met Ames was a tall pink-haired giant, who cowered behind a box, and another giant with long brown hair. As his blue eyes glared straight through both of their souls, Ames thought.
(Strange that such a giant should cower to the likes of master Asahi…)
Suddenly, the dark cat hunched to the floor and screeched, revealing his sharp teeth.
Katib and Brunella glared at Ames confusingly and thought it was just a warning. But in Ames' perspective, he felt a force.
(Ah, what… is this?)
A force that pushed down on his mind, one that urged him to bounce all over the walls; The feeling of hyperactivity.
The glowing blue hue on Ames' eyes blended into a light green as a green-haired giant scurried toward the door, carrying hovering green luminance in her hand. Her cyan eyes darted to Ames and caught a guilty feeling weighing on her heart. She mumbled as Ames mindlessly rushed from wall to wall.
"What?! The Sealed Beatific affects animals, too?!"
With no choice, Kali chased Ames across the stairs.
"Block the door!" Katib hollered as he hurriedly raced to it and pressed his back against it.
His book flew over to the ground, and Brunella's eyes darted to him; she gasped and hurriedly seized the object. The shadows of the stairways cast over them, and green luminance leaked from the floor.
At last, Kali finally caught the hyperactive dark cat and swiftly pressed her luminance-shrouded hand on his head. The only thought in Ames' head was…
(Move, up, down, left, right, speed, up-down, left-right, up-down left…) and so on…
The force had caught him in this trance. But as Ames' tail lowered and the green flare on Ames' eyes faded away to the original color, Kali whispered softly.
"Suppress the powers of The Beatific. Heal the wounds of ecstasy and slow the spread."
Ames slowly closed his eyes, inclined his head, and lowered his fluffy tail.
(Up… down… huh? What's… happening to me? I feel…)
The cat's tail slowly draped on Kali's palm.
Kali couldn't help but smile at Ames. She lightly patted the kitten's head, placed him soundly near the box, and whispered.
"You will be alright."
The door quickly swung open, tossing torn objects and knocking Brunella and Katib up the stairs. A green luminance emerged from the whistling door. Kali gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and immediately raced to Katib and Brunella. She asked.
"A..Are you okay?"
Katib's emerald eyes shrank in fear. The gusts from outside pushed his pink hair back; green luminance covered both their faces. Kali leaned over to him and rubbed his ear. Suddenly, Katib alerted and pointed to the doorway.
"Over there! My book is caught in the blaze of the situation! Please, your majesty… do something."
Kali turned to Brunella and saw a shocked expression all over her face. She tried to ask, but Brunella skidded back. In confusion, Kali took a deep breath and tried to ask.
"Is… s-something wrong?"
Brunella's face paled, her lower lip trembled, and quickly she pushed Kali away, screaming with a brittle voice.
"B-B…Behind YOU!"
Kali felt warmth creep up her back. She hurriedly turned around; her heart plummeted immediately.
"NO!"
Kali's eyes were bestowed by the sight of strange, grimy, transparent pulsating green vines wrapping around Asahi and Aletha, crushing the two slowly while a false grin was engraved on their faces.
Uncontrollable, unnatural laughter deafened her ears with tears flowing down their eyes.
It was nothing like Kali had ever seen.
"The Sealed Beatific…" Her lips trembled.
Asahi and Aletha's smiles wiped off their faces as the strange vines slipped off their bodies. The bizarre vines slithered toward Kali's feet, gripping and attaching to her ankles. She hurriedly forced a green explosion through one of the luminescent green vines and shredded the roots. Yet as she tried to race back to Asahi and Aletha, she was shocked to discover more had appeared.
"G…Get out of my… w-way…."
The strange vines hissed and screeched at Kali. All of them rushed on the floor and grappled all of Kali's body, tightening and squeezing dust out from her. Life drained out her face as the vines attached and leached her energy. Before all of her life could be drained, she spawned another orb and tossed it to the vines. The green light consumed and shredded half of the entity, forcing it to shriek and flail away.
But just as Kali could catch a break, a dozen more of the strange vines formed and swiftly enveloped her.
Kali's hope, energy, and life gradually drained away as she struggled with hopelessness and the pressure. Katib and Brunella paralyzed in shock, absolutely shunned with disbelief. None of them had any idea what to do.
"Your majesty!"
Asahi and Aletha were still recovering from the attack; They couldn't interfere, even if they tried. Just as they could regather their senses and sanity, a high-pitched, rounded, penetrating voice emerged from atop the stairs.
"Ooo, LOOKIE WHAT WE HAVE HERE!?"
Eight hundred red fluorescent light beams plummeted from the stairway and pierced straight through the vines. They quickly released Kali away and slithered up the stairs.
The room got engulfed in a blinding red and green light, the interior trembled, and all lights struck all of the strange vines, shriveling each into ash and charcoal.
Kali was left unscratched; all her life entered back into her.
"H...Huh? Where did that come from?"
(TAP TAP TAP)
Footsteps echoed over the stairway. A blurry silhouette of a girl bounced off the walls, scraped plant-essence across the stairs, and unleashed fifty more red and green lights at the shrieking entity.
The aroma of flowers scattered everywhere around the room and staircase.
Brunella, Katib, and Ames were rudely forced to enter the room because of how much greenery emerged from thin air.
"AH! I GUESS THAT WASN'T ENOUGH!"
Asahi and Aletha raced to the doorway, only to find it covered in thick green vines. A bright green luminance pierced through the dense shrubbery. Kali grabbed the wanderers' hands and pulled them away from the blast radius.
"Get out of the way!"
Ames screeched and found Asahi resting against the furthest wall.
Smoke clouded the room, the stairway was drenched in plants, and the rest of the people were afraid of this unknown individual who came out of nowhere.
As they covered under a table, Asahi tilted to Kali and asked.
"Who is that?!"
Kali shrugged.
"I… I don't know. But that girl's happiness energy is beyond my threshold. If not… their power is stronger than mine! I… know her…."
Her voice was cut short as she saw the vines propelled to a tiny hole in the right corner. The same ecstatic voice burst out from the flashes of light. Lethal beams charged into the room, crushing the entity and leaving nothing but twitching leaves behind.
"TAKE THAT FIEND!"
(Tap)
(Tap)
(Tap)
The footsteps from the stairway gradually grew louder. Katib hurriedly crawled for his book but was hastily stopped by a foot emerging from the staircase. Katib felt a crushing pain on his wrist, his eyes bulged out, and Brunella felt an incredible heat touch her heart.
"Katib!"
Asahi, Aletha, and Kali, stared at the two glistening red high heels with a bright crimson bow attached to both her ankles.
She had long, double-braided aqua-green hair, warm sparkling pink eyes, and wore a long white scarf draped around her neck with red stripes over it. Her short plaid skirt danced with her incredibly goofy movements, her long dark stockings bloomed under the light, and her blue-striped shirt with a purple undershirt flung back and forth.
She pranced around and happily clapped, celebrating her victory on the vines and dancing absolutely unnecessary.
"Yay! TAKE THAT, SUCKER!"
Her aura emitted a feeling of hyperactivity and silliness, an element that shouldn't fit the beauty of this girl. She hollered out as everyone cowered in concern.
"Alright, you people can come on out now!~ I killed the monster for you! Come on, I know you're here somewhere!"
She unhesitatingly tossed the entire bookshelf with just one hand. All the books slid and fell to the ground on Katib's head. Irritated and annoyed, Katib stepped up and screamed at the girl.
"Hey, those are my books! Don't touch them!"
Her pink eyes hurriedly darted to Katib. A smile bloomed over her face.
"OH MY GOODNESS! WHO are you?! YOU'RE SOOOO CUTE!"
Katib shivered in terror.
"W-What do you mean?"
The crazy girl dashed to Katib and wrapped her arms around him.
"AH!"
The pressure of her hug was too strong to handle that he was coughing and suffocating from it.
Brunella crossed her arms and chuckled nervously, Kali was recovering from the drain of the vines, and Asahi and Aletha… were… absolutely confused.
Aletha asked as the chaos outside the table ensued.
"What's going on, Asahi?"
Asahi closed his eyes, exhaled with a tone of frustration, and replied with a whisper.
"I have no idea. So much is happening… at once…." He sighed deeply and felt Ames jump on his shoulder; his dark tail wagged back and forth.
Asahi continued while Katib fought for his breath.
"All I remember is that we awakened, fought for a bit, and got suffocated by strange vines. I don't understand anything at all--
Brunella slid over, waved her hand in the air, and interrupted.
"HEY! I'm sorry for Interrupting you, but my friend is choking! Could you do something about it, dumb heads?!"
Kali sighed, sounding as if all her energy had vanished.
"Please, do something about that… girl. I wish I could do something, but I feel… so…" She collapsed to the floor and breathed heavily. "...weak."
Asahi grabbed Kali's wrist, smiled lightly, and whispered with a gentle tone.
"Don't worry… I'll ask her." He gestured to Aletha. "Come on, sis. Get out from the table!"
As the girl and Katib continued to 'hug,' Asahi and Aletha raced hurriedly out from the table and skidded their feet on the plat-consumed ground.
All they could hear were the loud, cheerful screams of the girl and the choking from Katib.
"So cute with your tiny winy ears! Awww…"
Katib had just enough energy to see the wanderers. He whimpered as he felt the girl's body crushing him.
"H-Help… m…me…."
Asahi nodded his head, stepped forward, and approached the girl. He snapped his fingers and mumbled.
"Hey…"
The girl was still squeezing Katib's breath out like a loose train.
(I guess I need to speak a little louder…?)
Asahi closed his eyes and expressed a little louder.
"Hey… could you…"
The girl happily giggled, squeezed Katib, and rubbed her face over his hair. She didn't even twitch to Asahi's voice.
. . .
After five seconds of trying to gain the crazy girl's attention, Asahi stomped his foot aggressively on the ground and raised his voice.
"HEY!"
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence.
The girl's pink eyes immediately darted to Asahi. Her breathing grew rampant, weakened her grip, and released Katib from her arms, dropping him roughly on the jumbled pile of books.
As Asahi's menacing eyes pierced through her soul, his arms crossed, and his ears twitching with irritation, a faint red blush crept over her face.
. . .
Instead of Asahi speaking and ruining his threatening posture, possibly making her loud again, Aletha stepped in and asked the girl.
"Hey, could you settle down?" Aletha used her 'soft' voice to persuade the girl, "You almost suffocated that boy to death. I know you saved us and all… but could you tone it down a bit?"
The girl remained silent, staring at Asahi's eyes. Aletha squinted and continued.
"Just who are you anyway?"
No response. Only a stare.
While the wanderers and the girl have a "staring contest," Katib raced across the pile of books, shuffled back to Brunella, and retrieved his extraordinary book.
"Thank goodness it's not damaged…."
Brunella shook her head and smiled. Though she may be grumpy sometimes, at least she had a tiny smidge of light in her. As Katib skimmed through the empty pages, Brunella crossed her arms and asked Katib while her eyes were on the ceiling.
"Are you alright? Is your health in good condition?"
Katib nodded his head slowly with a wry smile on his face.
"Yes… it is. All the pages are fine."
Brunella grinned and tilted down to Katib, showing a look of relief all over her face.
"Good."
. . .
Ames squinted his eyes at the girl and shook his head. His paws grappled onto Asahi's shoulder, his whiskers flung upward, and his tail wagged against Asahi's hair. Ames thought as the Asahi, the girl, and Aletha stood utterly silent.
(My concerns for my master... are rising at an alarming rate.)
Asahi heard everything Ames said. He replied to the black cat while fiddling with his fluffy ears.
(It's alright, Ames. Don't be so concerned for me. I have this under control.)
Ames purred and wagged his tail.
(Understood, master.)
Aletha's eyes broadened, and Asahi's intimidating stance vanished. She whispered as the girl slowly lifted her arms.
"Asahi, you didn't…."
Suddenly, the girl broke out of her silence, pointed to the ceiling, struck a strong pose, and responded to Aletha's question in a confident, hyper voice.
"I'm glad you asked that!" She snapped her fingers, a glimmer formed in her eyes, and her red skirt flew upward. The girl twirled around, winked at the room, and announced.
"MY NAME IS PRIDIALOIA YUKOTASH BRUNKSI-- but you can just call me Pridia!"
Everyone in the room jumped in shock. The moment was all too sudden for the wanderers to process.
"I come from far far lands, and I'm here to spice things up and save the day!"
Kali glared at the girl, crossed her fingers, and shouted angrily.
"Stop lying. You came from this nation!"
Pridia stuck her tongue out, twirled a dozen more times, and mocked Kali while making hand gestures.
"Ugh… gosh, this ruler is boring. Okay, fine! I'll introduce myself once again."
She kicked Kali from across the room. Her long aqua-green hair fluctuated and spun.
"REDO! O… KAY! MY NAME IS--"
Brunella slammed the door, probably irritated by her loud voice that echoed over the walls. Her voice did not once sound interesting.
"Just get to the point…."
Pridia's voice grew… quieter yet immediately escalated back up as she kicked Brunella to the table.
"...My name is Pridia! I'm a divine envoy of the nation of Linuxinia and serve as this nation's accomplice. A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!"
After Pridia's chaotic, silly introduction, everyone in the room, including herself, knew that all she said were lies.
It even made both the wanderers beg Pridia the question…
"How in the world did YOU save us?"
Pridia's face flushed red at what she thought was an insult. Instead of her gentle, fluctuating actions, there were sharper and more aggressive. It's almost as if she had something else to share. While her face flushed red, she jumped up and down, screaming.
"Eh?! Do you know how much trouble I went through to get here? I raced someone across the entire city and won fair and square."
Kali pressed her lips together into a thin line and rolled her eyes.
She couldn't put how annoyed she was with the ecstatic Pridia.
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