Chương 3: Voice Of Disaster
Visualize another universe. A different dimension.
Thousands of overpowered monsters surrounding a single entity on his throne. Their actions indicated that they were more than just paying their debts of respect towards him; they were worshipping him.
Allow me to introduce...
Aku no Kami, the Evil God.
These creations...,' he thought. 'They lack something.' A hand was propped up to his chin. Evil God sat on his immortal throne, lost in another world of thought and decisions. 'My creations aren't standing out against the humans' majestic existance. Despite being stronger, faster, evolved. I don't know why. Why? WHY?!'
Hesitantly, he raised an arm and wiped out half of the demons present nearby, oscillating through the realm of Urottharonngomonasht (the name of this dimension) like a holy curse.
Via his far sight abilities, Evil God peered into Harthwa (the Earthly dimension). His mind demanded to check the condition of his latest work - the Jinnic demon sent after the Alkynes.
'Where is it? Where in my name did you go?'
At last, he found it. Dead, however.
His eyes dilated. Muscles clenched.
ROAAAAARRRR!!!
Evil God pounded his fist on his throne's arm.
'Again. I failed again. Why? Am I not destined to be a God?!' he drew out his sword - a magnificent work of bone and a strange unknown metal.
He turned his gaze towards the remainder of the demons he had crafted using his own soul.
Pointing the sword at them, he ordered.
"Burn! Burn them down.... Search for clues. Whoever dared to defeat my demon..."
*****
Back at Earth....
The island of Nasagna they called it. Home sanctuary to the Akaminé cult and faction. Right near the heart of the island itself, a giant dragon fossil adorns the backyard of the main academy buildings.
That's right. An academy. For warriors.
Serving as the perfect training grounds for the new, proving grounds for the experienced, and assembling grounds for the lead. The Akaminé headquarters was well-guarded, no doubt. For it was the only safe zone on Earth where the Akaminé could harvest their time on practicing and resting.
From near the inner edge of the forests engraved on the island, a familiar character arrived via a portal. Dressed in red, wielding a polished glaive.
"Ah, Wan Dé!" a voice startled that person.
"Huh?" he allowed some time for his eyes to adjust to the scenario. "Who's there? Nokau, is that you?"
"Yeah, man," the Nokau guy closed in. "It's a surprise to see you here, all of a sudden. What happened?"
"What do you mean? I'm here for something more...entertaining," Wan scratched his head. "Office work as a normal person is getting tedious now."
"I see," Nokau narrowed his gaze. He nudged Wan in the ribs, gently. "Damn you, bro! I know you better than anyone. Your face clearly tells me you got kicked out of your job!"
Wan Dé managed a slow laugh, rubbing his torso where the jab had hit.
"You're right on time, Wan!"
"Why?" he placed the glaive's head pointing towards the ground. "Got trouble?"
"Nah. It's just some weird new plant species that is stored at the botanical attic."
Wan's eyes turned bleak.
"Hmm..."
"So c'mon, dude! Follow me," Nokau gestured with a smile.
Wan Dé obeyed.
While walking up the path to the academy zone, dozens of thoughts bombarded Wan's head. 'Nokau Ora is his name. A really fun fellow. Makes me laugh at times. Keeps me entertained. It's been a while now, since we went on demon hunting together. Especially due to the separation of roles....'
Nokau peered over his shoulder to check if Wan was still following him or not.
They passed through the gates of the academy.
Wan's drifting stream of nostalgic vision continued. 'Nokau was skilled in the art of healing and magic. But I've never seen him in a real fight. Gets really lovey-dovey with a girl named Anita. For all I know, he's meant to be a druid than a trapper agent like me.'
They walked past the central courtyard, saving a peek to look at the aura of heavy discipline and fog of physical preparation in progress; trainers and students in their respective positions.
"There it is! The botanical section," Nokau informed when they arrived.
"Huh? That?!" Wan pointed towards a symbol etched in the stone next to the door. "Hell of a courage you've got, Ora! There's a restricted rune there. You seriously think we can trespass?"
"Yeah, Wan. Trust me," Nokau cracked his knuckles for action. "Simply follow my lead!"
- SNAP! BRRRRRTT!! -
"Aaaaaahhh!!" Nokau was hit by an enchantment guarding the door. "Shiiiit. Ouch. My nose. My neck!"
"Hang on!" Wan uttered a restoration spell immediately. And blasted it at his friend.
Like magic, (duh!) the enchantment's effects waned out. Unfortunately, a black pigment remained on Nokau's face.
"Great! Now Anita will quit our relationship together if she finds me like this," Nokau complained and blamed himself. "You're right, Wan. Pardon my decisions. Let's get outta here before the druid in charge returns."
Nokau was about to turn away and leave when Wan's hand sprung up and grabbed his shoulder.
"Wan...what're you..."
Wan stood there, gleaming and smoldering like a prince with charm. Eyes closed and face downwards.
A mischievous unexpected chuckle decorated his lips.
"Fear not, Nokau. Now that we've come this far. I say we should give it a shot at finding that plant. Yeah?"
"Uh.... Wan Dé? Did you get possessed or something?" Nokau found it odd, coming from someone pure-hearted like Wan, to obstruct rules.
"Ofcourse not, you idiotic..." he stopped midsentence and let it out with a sigh. "Jus' follow me."
Nokau gulped and nodded OK.
Inside, the storage attic was a campground for darkness. Nokau helped Wan to open the shutters, letting the sunlight take care of the rest.
"Phew! This place is full of dust. I wonder when was it last cleaned," Wan asked rhetorically.
"Umm....uh...." Nokau hid away the reason. He was supposed to clean up, after losing a bet to the druid in a game of chess. Instead, he slacked off and pretended to be ill. Which is why the druid had currently travelled away to collect herbs for his treatment. "I don't know.... Ask the druid when he returns...."
"Ofcourse I will!"
'Aiii....' Nokau bit his tongue. 'Damn. I'm doomed!'
"Where's this forsaken plant?" Wan searched among the shelves of seeds.
"Um...here," Nokau pointed towards an obscure pot of seeds. "Careful... It reeks of a dark scent."
Wan blocked his nose with one hand and examined the obnoxious seeds with the other.
Like little shrapnel of obsidian, they glittered in the light. Wan picked one and stepped towards the windows for a closer look.
At that moment, a magpie robin suddenly entered the room. Swooping down like an airborne missile, it pecked at a seed and held it in its beak.
"Oh NOOOOO!!!"
Nokau's scream scared the bird off. Right out the window.
"Holy slices of..." Nokau broke through the shutters while running after the bird.
"Nokau? What's wrong?" Wan noticed.
"Hurry! Catch that bird! It got one of the seeds! Help! The druid will peel my skin off and fry it with salt if he finds out!"
"Alright, alright... Enough of the exaggeration, dude. I'm coming. Hold up," Wan placed back the seed he was carrying and hurried after his friend. He ignored the broken shutters of the window.
Sprinting on foot wasn't sufficient. Unfortunately, they weren't taught the art of levitation and flying yet. So they had no choice.
After five minutes of the mini marathon, they reached the edge of the island, panting. The bird was still on the loose.
"Great! How will he run after it now?" Wan turned towards his partner. "Is it truly necessary that we get that seed? I mean... It's just a seed. Right? What could be the harm?"
Nokau's face showed signs of nervousness echoing inside him.
"That seed.... if it falls anywhere.... it will start growing very rapidly...."
"What's so dangerous about it?"
"Forget the scolding we'll get if our master finds out. That seed will grow a dark tree that feeds on light. Worse, it produces toxic gases. And its roots can travel as deep as the core of the Earth! This plant doesn't belong to our dimension. Which is why it's so... demonic."
"What?!!!" Wan felt his forehead. His fingers came away sweaty.
He opened up a portal back to Ach'ka Chuai. Nokau followed.
*****
Meanwhile...
Somewhere in Ach'ka Chuai...
Takira followed the Alkynes innocently and on the brink of about to express her high excitement.
They walked silently through a maze of alleyways that she had never seen or heard of, before. And the environment dramatically seemed to grow colder and darker - even in the afternoon period.
"Um... Fa.. Fagin, are we headed in the right direction?"
Fagin didn't reply. Only a smile answered back insistently; a fake smile.
"Oh..." Takira's excitement shattered.
After a few more minutes, they stopped.
It was a construction site of sorts.
"This is it?!" Takira exclaimed.
Fagin nodded as the other Alkynes cast a spell that made the environment transform completely. The props and elements of the construction site vanished in seconds. It was merely an illusion to ward off other humans.
Now the place revealed a flat piece of land.
One of the Alkynes snapped his fingers and stomped the ground with a leg. An echo was audible.
Out of nowhere, a couple of root-like structures grew out. They carved out some runes on the soil in a circular pattern.
The Alkynes stepped on top of those patterns. Fagin held Takira's hand, gently. To escort her there.
Takira didn't know where this was headed. But she couldn't say NO to anything either. Not now. Not at this stage.
The three Alkynes chanted in chorus. A blinding light surrounded the entire place beyond the boundaries of the drawn circle.
Lo and behold! As the misty lights cleared out, Takira was surprised to find that they were already INSIDE the hidden HQ!!
The whole environment had changed. Stunningly, Takira was impressed.
At the same time, she was scared.
Because now the surroundings looked as if they were all underground, somehow.
"Follow me..." Fagin's sweet words slithered into her ears. Like a python hypnotizing its prey
He grabbed Takira's hand. This time, a little harshly than before.
Takira was too puzzled to do anything. All she could do at the moment was to observe the surroundings around her.
The atmosphere was full of reddish shades. Red and black. From the ceiling, stalactites grew. But they looked artificial. As if made out of metal. The environment depicted some sort of scenario in Hell... except... there was no lava anywhere.
Only darkness and a few reddish-white lights.
(The light sources looked white, but the edges were tinged with red)
Many chandeliers and candles illuminated the hallways.
The furniture nearby looked very... expensive. The type of "expensive" you get in rich criminals' homes. Scaly objects. Some of them were even carved right into the stone of the walls.
One thing was clear: these Alkynes had been living and reigning in these areas for centuries it seemed.
Takira courteously followed Fagin; a fish being lured by an angler.
Into a room where another elderly person was already awaiting their presence. Fagin showed him the palm of his hand. In parallel, both his and Fagin's eyes suddenly glowed purple and went back to normal as soon as it had occurred.
A larger 'person' stood nearby. Blurred out of the scene by shadows playing on his face.
"Daneyo, you can go now," the elderly Alkyne nodded at the giant figure.
"Yes, master..."
Takira heard more of a growl than actual words slipping out of that giant person's mouth. That made her feel more out-of-place.
"Ah, yes... Takira Honé, I presume," the elderly Alkyne observed a wave of shock wash over her face.
'What? How? How does he know my name?' Takira almost murmured her thoughts aloud.
"Ah, don't be scared, my child. Don't be shy, too," he tried to neutralize her fears. "My name is Roguro Ganis. I'm the one who coordinates and leads the Alkynes. You seem to already know a little about us, I see..."
'What?! How does he know that, too? Is he reading my mind with a spell?' Takira stared down at the floor.
"Now, now, my child... Observe," Roguro held her chin upright and made her face his other hand. He worked upon a few harmless spells to demonstrate to her. "See? You can become one of us. Welcome to a world of magic. A world hidden from plain sight by the mainstream human population."
Catching Takira off guard, Roguro shoved her towards a wall without warning. Shackles snapped shut around her wrists and ankles.
Takira screamed and called out to Fagin for help. He stares back at her, helplessly.
Roguro unveils his true persona with a packet of laughter. A brainwashing spell was ready and blazing in his right hand. Spinning like an orb, bound by insanity, orbiting with obedience.
"Fear not, Takira Chan.... From now on... You'll be with us. You'll be an Alkyne and embrace the power and possibilities of magic!"
Fagin clenched his fists in the corner. Trying his best to overcome his inner wish to stop Roguro.
Not able to cope up, Fagin darted forward to intercept the process.
"Fagin! No..." Takira warned. But it was too late.
"What's this?" Roguro found his hand sizzling. The 'Alkyne conversion' orb had hit Fagin instead of Takira. "A behavioral change? Ah, I hadn't seen that coming. Even my chronomancy hadn't seen that coming. Especially from you, Fagin," he kicked at Fagin's fallen body. "Arise, dog! Lick my boots right now!!"
Fagin remained fallen on the floor.
"So... where were we?" Roguro switched his attention back towards Takira. "Looks like my slave dog had a mental deficiency. Don't worry. I've got him cured off now."
Behind him, Fagin stood up again. Not normally, though. As if hypnotized.
Roguro prepared another orb for Takira.
~Sigh~ Takira averted her eyes to the side. 'Yes. Go ahead. I'm not worth living anymore. Wherever I step, karma is ready to assault me. I wasn't meant for this world. I'm weak. I suck. Even if this man kills me... I have no regrets.' A teardrop condensed from her eyes.
Time slowed down. So did Takira's heart.
At the last moment, a hockey bat came flying out to interrupt the spell's trajectory.
An orange-haired girl jumped out of the shadows from nowhere. In an instant, she teleported and punched Roguro's face. She backflipped and stood ready in a fighting stance, in front of Takira.
Takira's mood changed right before her tears had reached the bottom of her cheek. She is amazed at the sight of this 11th hour Samaritan.
"Mi.. Miyumi?"
Hearing her name being called out, Miyumi turned her head and smiled at her.
But the hope of Takira being rescued was quickly muffled out...
"Hoi! Who are you? How did you find our HQ?" Roguro barked out.
He drew out revolvers and began shooting. Miyumi dived and dodged them expertly.
One of the bullets hit Fagin, knocking him out.
Thanks to her teleporting ability, Miyumi attempted another strike at Roguro. This time, with her hockey bat.
The tides of victory were getting close....
But never reached the shore.
The combat situation had generated a lot of noise, attracting the nearby Alkynes to join in the fight.
Miyumi was thankfully adept at fighting bare-handed; but she couldn't fight forever.
She got pushed back by a female Alkyne, making her fall to the floor.
Then she realized how badly exhausted she had become.
Among all of these troubles, the giant Alkyne named Daneyo showed up.
Takira's eyes turned white (the kind of white eyes with bold black outlines you find in some anime comical moments).... and mouth gaped open.
"Well, well, young savior," Roguro clapped while approaching Miyumi. "Now we'll have two new recruits!"
He seemed untouched by all the blows landed by Miyumi.
*****
Meanwhile...
On the other side of Ach'ka Chuai...
"There it is!" Nokau informed.
The magpie was perched high atop a building.
Wan and Nokau silently spied on the bird from a vantage point behind some clumps of bushes at ground level.
"Damn. How are we going to catch the bird?" Wan scratched his head and judged the approximate distance from his position to the bird's.
"It's not the bird we have to catch. It's the seed."
"Oh... yes... right right!"
The bird was about to fly away when Wan picked up a stone and tried to aim at the bird.
But mid-air, suddenly the bird flew so fast that Wan himself got startled.
The bird changed direction and turned towards their direction.
"Oh, look! It's coming after us!" Nokau pointed, about to flee.
"Wait! Be ready..."
"For what?"
"Use your instincts and training to try to grab the bird or the seed when it swoops over our heads. Got it?"
The bird swooped down like an eagle, at quite an unnatural speed.
In slow-motion, Nokau caught the bird. But the seed dropped from its beak due to the shaking.
Wan and Nokau stood motionless, watching the seed fall to the soil.
Nokau let go of the bird, which pecked at his head before flying off.
"What do we do now?" Wan inquired, in a rather shaky voice.
"Hmm...ohh!" Nokau slammed his fist on his other hand in a "Eureka!" fashion. "The seed won't grow here."
"Whaaaaaaaaat?!!!"
"Yeah, err... sorry for not mentioning before, but it requires some specific conditions to be met before it germinates."
Wan stood there burning up on his friend's words. Trying to hide his internal inferno growing.
"So all of this was USELESS?? Why did we run after the bird?!!"
"Sorry, man..." Nokau itched his back with one arm behind his head (in a typical "my mistake" anime expression.)
The sky turned dark without notice. And a lightning bolt hit the ground nearby... or what looked like one.
Where the bolt had placed its impact, some stray Alkynes and their shadow wolf pets apparated.
"Be sorry to THIS!" an Alkyne broke in.
Both Wan and Nokau were caught by surprise. They got into defensive stances immediately.
"What do you want?" Wan contracted his eyebrows.
"The seed," the other Alkyne answered with two words.
'Oh great! No one wants the bird.' Wan thought.
"No. No one's gonna take the seed," Nokau retorted. "It belongs to--"
A blurry figure of something landed between the Akaminé and Alkynes. It was the bird. But it seemed to grow now. Too fast. In a second, it grew to the size and shape of a man wearing a feathered robe.
"--Me!" the man answered.
"Sensei!!" Wan and Nokau's jaws dropped open. It was the druid in charge of the botanical gardens all along!
"I'll hear your excuses later, my esteemed pupils," the druid snickered. "Right now, we have some issues to deal with!"
He charged forwards with a spell, but Nokau tried to be a hero and accidentally bumped into him. The spell went off track and landed at the seed.
"There it is!" the Alkynes spotted it.
The shadow wolves (a.k.a. 'gagûns') were about to pounce on Nokau and the druid when Wan decided to use his special ability...
Wan had vowed never to use it, but the measures were desperate indeed. The special power. The one.
"One!" Wan raised his index finger and pointed at the opponents.
A lucky moment. All of them were standing in a straight line.
Instantly, like a miracle, a god-like burst of energy blew across the place, originating as a force from Wan's finger. Everything in his line of sight got vaporized and blown away - a series of buildings, trees, innocent humans... anything that stood as a barrier to the force.
Wan managed to kill the Alkynes. Almost.
The last surviving Alkyne got creeped out by Wan's ability and created a portal back to their den.
Wan pointed at him once more and shouted out : "One!"
His glaive was ready at disposal, and he had already dived through the portal before Nokau and the druid could even raise a word of caution.
Wan's shot was perfectly timed.
He managed to freak out Roguro Ganis by suddenly appearing into the scene and wrecking the majority of the Alkynes' HQ into fragments. He swung his glaive in savage arcs... killing off a huge percentage of the Alkyne members nearby.
He allowed some time for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the den. And he finds Takira Honé ( 'Oh. It's that girl again. Damn. Why do I run into her all the time?' ) and Miyumi Rakkan. ( 'Uh... I don't know about that one. Though she looks injured. Better help her out.' )
Wan was certainly aghast by meeting Takira again.
Meanwhile, Roguro and the others retreated to the shadows. But he left Daneyo in charge of covering them while they fled.
"Ah, you're a Sikuinju demon," Wan recognized Daneyo's racial identity. "But wait... you're half human, too?"
Daneyo Ocraig marched forward silently.
Wan landed a slice at Daneyo's left arm, but the blade scraped across as if he was made of rock. Metallic rock nearly.
'Huh? What? My blade failed?!' Wan's blade had always managed to pierce through anything it touched... until today.
Wan changed his mind and swerved over to Takira's position, slicing the shackles open.
"You alright?" he asked her, out of instinct.
"I... uh... I..."
Daneyo threw a fallen stalactite at Takira. But Miyumi dived and absorbed the damage.
"MIYUMIIIII !!!"
Wan shot his gaze at Daneyo one last time.
"One!"
Daneyo stepped aside and walked up closer, dodging Wan's killer move.
'That's it. I'm doomed. My friend is dead because of me. Even my savior is doomed. All because of me. I shouldn't have been born.' Takira closed her eyes.
'Oh great! I hope Nokau and Sensei Tihono have informed the HQ about this den, by now.' Wan's forehead shimmered with worries.
Wan's estimation came out right!
Due to a miracle, several portals opened up. Akaminé warriors came rushing out to raid the Alkyne territory.
Wan picked up Miyumi. And Nokau gestured at Takira to follow.
They passed through one of the portals.
Back.
Back to the safety of Nasagna, at last!
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Distil
Distil Did you know? The members of Mux Anime Studios created some soundtracks for the anime adaptation of this storyline (called "111" back then).
Here's the opening theme : https://youtu.be/NlJXSGjNhKU
And here's the credits theme : https://youtu.be/Spmn6ulDmM4
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