Chương 7: Side B: Voices

Earlier,¹

As holtow finished preparing his equipment he harbored doubts regarding the competency of Lieutenant Markus, the operational manager overseeing the mission.

To him, the entire operation appeared to be a reckless gamble, like feeding a meat grinder rather than executing a well-thought-out plan.

"I know the military is cruel, but they wouldn't waste human resources like this." he thought to himself.

His suspicions were further piqued by Theo's brief mention of the utilization of night-vision goggles.

It was widely acknowledged within military circles that such technology was futile against the entities they were tasked with confronting; in fact, it could potentially provoke them to greater aggression in some cases.

Yet, despite this knowledge, the authorization for their use had been granted for the first strike squad.

"He would either be the most retarded lieutenant I've ever seen." Holtow mused to himself, his brow furrowing in consternation, "Or..." His thoughts trailed off as he affixed the Zeigen device securely to his arm.

"For some regular company hired Closer, they wouldn't know any of this information" Suddenly, his mind snapped back to the conversation with Theo.

It struck him that Theo had cut him off with the question regarding the night vision goggles.

Holtow's instincts prickled with unease and a gruesome thought emerged from his mind "They were sending them to die…are they feeding this thing?" his eyes widened at a newly thought possibility

"If the cult were involved earlier, then it would make sense how the entity suddenly became so powerful."

He looked at his wrist, glancing at the Zeigen device.

He had heard rumors from his co-workers that entities that lurk in the dark were easily enraged by loud noises, such as sonar. He further doubted the "devices" that they had to place inside the cage.

At this point, they were some sort of dud objective placed for the "mission".

A wry smile emerged underneath his mask "Damn it Velk you were right" A brief image of Holtow's therapist lingered in his mind.

Glancing to his side he noticed Gwisin equipping her gear. "Hey! Holtow called out" She glanced back at him. "Do you understand English?"

"Engrish?" She replies with a thick accent.

"Yeah, English"

"I…understand a rittle"

"Ok, well I have something to say…"

As Holtow and Gwisin emerged from the armory clad in heavy armor, Theo intercepted them in the narrow hallway, his arms crossed in a stance of authority.

"I have some news... Both of you decide whether it's good or not," he announced, his tone stern and unwavering.

Holtow's curiosity piqued. "What's that?" he inquired, his interest evident.

"The two specific magus joining you are... let's just say bastards in their own right, but I heard they were supposed to be top of their classes," Theo relayed, his tone hinting at a mixture of caution and reservation.

Holtow, accustomed to dealing with difficult personalities, remained composed.

"I've dealt with shitty people before. As long as they're useful, I have no problems," he responded, his confidence unwavering.

While Holtow seemed unfazed, Gwisin's reaction betrayed a sliver of hidden resentment as she clenched her fist.

Theo sighed, relenting to the situation.

"Fine, whatever," he muttered as he uncrossed his arms, preparing to impart further instructions.

"Well, as you might already know, the cage will close as soon as you enter, and you'll either have to kill the entity or die for it to open back up," Theo reminded them, his voice carrying a weight of seriousness.

"Yeah, we're aware of that," Holtow acknowledged, his mind already focused on the task ahead.

Theo then reached for his waist and produced two triangular devices, handing one to Gwisin and the other to Holtow.

"These are the devices you'll be planting inside the cage. Time passes differently in there; a few minutes inside could be hours out here. So, finish the mission as quickly as possible," Theo instructed, his tone emphasizing the urgency of their task.

Holtow and Gwisin seized the devices from Theo's outstretched hands, With weighted strides, they followed Theo down the stairs, a mix of anticipation and dread coiling in their chests.

Approaching a door near the entrance of the apartment, Theo paused, his gaze fixed on the seemingly ordinary brown door adorned with an array of observational devices.

(Mission start time: 1:00 pm)

As the quartet ventured through the doorway, the light behind them evaporated into darkness, enveloping them in its oppressive embrace.

The squadron found themselves amidst a landscape unlike anything they had ever seen before.

The architecture before them seemed to defy conventional design of their cast-iron architecture, every hallway seemed to weave together connecting endlessly through the darkness.

To them, it felt as though they had stumbled upon a building giving a glimpse into an uncertain future.

As malls do not exist in the city of Porte or even in this world in general.

"I can't possibly be expected to be late for my friend's debut later tonight. Can we wrap this up quickly?" The prideful female magus sneered as they entered the cage, her disdain evident in her tone.

"Same, I just kinda wanna go to sleep now" the other magus chimed in with a bored sigh.

Gwisin and Holtow exchanged knowing glances, silently acknowledging their frustration with their companions' lackadaisical attitudes.

"Thank god you don't understand English," Holtow thought to himself as he glanced at Gwisin.

"So, what's the mission?" the prideful magus snapped her fingers, directing her attention towards Holtow.

"Well, we need to place these devices on the first and third floor to limit the entity's movements so we can fight it on the second floor" Holtow explained.

"I see. Well, go on then. You can do that. I'll go wait on the second floor for its arrival. I can't afford my makeup to be ruined by the air in here," she waved her hand dismissively with disdain.

The other magus glanced in confusion before speaking up.

"Uh, lady, if you're not gonna do the mission, why are you even here?"

The female magus opened her pocket mirror and glanced at her face. "I would do this mission if it weren't so boring, bâtard," (bastard) she retorted, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Je refuse de participer à cette affaire absurde," (I refuse to participate in this absurd affair) she added with a dismissive shrug.

The other magus sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't get what you just said but... I'll be accompanying you two then. Let's go finish this. I wanna go home or eat something"

With a confident stride, the lady walked away into the pitch-black darkness, presumably making her way to the second floor, while Holtow, Gwisin, and the remaining magus headed toward the first floor.

The mall was filled with deserted vintage stores, all related to dolls in one way or another. The only illumination came from the blue rhythmic hue of their Daimon devices.

Gwisin and the magus stood behind Holtow, alerted by a distant noise Gwisin instinctively pinged her Zeigen device.

"Shit..." Holtow thought to himself

"I told you not to use that!" Holtow whispered aggressively at the Closer.

"I..sorry"

"Stop." The magus suddenly commanded as he shut his eyes.

He then began to concentrate on his breath, breathing slowly as if he were meditating. For a moment silence befell the group until the Magus suddenly opened his eyes in shock

"Get ready something's coming"

A chilling cry for help in the distance echoed through the mall, it was the voice of a child.

Out of nowhere a gust of wind sent wooden doll parts crashing to the ground inside one store.

Alerted by the disturbance, Holtow activated the flashlight on his gun barrel, illuminating a haunting sight before them. In the stores, Victorian dolls, all missing their limbs, stared back at them with their eyes dilating.

Following Holtow's actions Gwisin also activated her flashlight, her beam scanning the area until she looked up, her expression morphing into one of horror.

"무슨 일이 일어난거야?" she uttered in shock.

Intrigued by her reaction, Holtow followed her gaze, shining his light upwards to reveal a ghastly scene.

Dolls hung from the mall's ceiling with rusted barbed wires, overshadowed by the bloodied bodies of the forward team, their arms severed and their heads decapitated their bodies were flayed beyond recognition, with their body parts slowly turning to wood.

"FOCUS! YOU DAMN CLOSERS!"

<<IGNIS!>>

Reacting swiftly, the magus conjured a ball of fire, hurling it towards a store on their left side A sudden shriek pierced the air.

"MOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMY!" The entity screamed out.

"It's weakened! Concentrate your fire!" he shouted, prompting Holtow and Gwisin to unload their magazines in the direction of the flames.

Due to the brightness of the flames, the two could make out the figure of a slender humanoid creature, its skin was as pale as ice and its body seemed to be emaciated. Affixed to its face with multiple crude stitches was a doll's face without eyes.

<<HELL FLAME>>

Blue flames erupted from within the entity bursting out from within its mask, in severe pain it flailed helplessly as it attempted to extinguish the fire from within itself, only to succumb to its strength and fade away into ash.

As Holtow and Gwisin watched the entity disintegrate, their relief was short-lived as multiple voices of children cried out for help from the darkness, surrounding them with their chilling pleas.

"This is bad… the entity multiplied. The cage has been open for way too long," the magus remarked grimly.

As Holtow and Gwisin waved their flashlights aimlessly in the dark, preparing for the inevitable battle ahead. In another part of the mall, the female magus walked alone, her expression twisted with disgust.

"I see you have arrived," a voice spoke from behind her.

"Is that you, Fafnir?" she inquired, turning to face a tall, handsome man with well-kept grey hair and red eyes emerging from the darkness.

"Indeed. How are you faring, Melusine?" he inquired, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"How am I faring? Are you mocking me? It feels so uncomfortable to be under human skin," she retorted, with her mouth not moving as she spoke.

Fafnir smiled knowingly. "You never change, do you?"

"So, why did you open this cage, lizard?" Melusine demanded, her tone sharp with accusation.

"Archon Soleim wanted me to. He said this city was a nuisance," Fafnir explained casually with a bitter expression

"How so?" Melusine pressed, her curiosity piqued.

"I was not informed, but if the Archon orders it, then who am I to deny?" Fafnir replied with a shrug and a sly laugh.

"Well, I heard from the others that he's searching for another sentinel," Melusine remarked, her interest piqued.

"A sentinel? That could only mean…" Fafnir trailed off, realization dawning on him.

"A birth of a new Archon," Melusine finished, her expression grave as she contemplated the implications of their conversation.

She couldn't help but release a large grin as the words left her lips. "Those poor humans"

As the two figures stood in the darkness, a sense of foreboding hung heavy in the air.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Current time outside cage: 11:03 pm)

Every night,

Elise dreams of vast expanses of plains stretched out under the sun's warmth. unveiling a magnificent tapestry of sprawling flowers gathered in a field punctuated by bursts of vibrant red.

As far as the eye could see, rows upon rows of tall, slender stems swayed gently in the breeze, their emerald leaves shimmering like jewels in the sunlight.

However something was different tonight,

A young girl wearing a plain white dress stood out amidst the sea of red flowers, her gaze seemed to be affixed to something.

A black mirror stood ominously before the girl, its surface a void that seemed to swallow all light. From within its depths emanated a voice.

"A h~uman? How- intriguing--" the voice rumbled, its words distorted almost beyond comprehension.

"My name is Elise." the girl replied, her voice steady despite the uncertainty that prickled at her senses.

"Might I inquire as to your purpose here…. Elise?"

There was a heavy pause before the voice responded as if it was trying to mimic human language, each syllable tinged with an otherworldly resonance.

"I want to find someone," Elise continued her words carrying a weight of longing and determination.

"Another human, I presume?" the voice inquired, its tone unreadable.

"Yes, her name is Minerva. Have you seen her?" Elise's voice held a flicker of hope

"Everyone has seen her here, in one way or another" the voice intoned cryptically, "it's only a matter of time before you meet her again."

Relief surged through Elise, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Thank goodness, she's still alive," she whispered to herself, a knot of tension loosening in her chest.

"Yes, she's alive and well," the voice confirmed, "though she has a request for you."

"A request?" Elise echoed, her curiosity piqued.

"Indeed," the voice replied, its timbre resonating with ancient wisdom, "every queen requires her royal guard, and I believe you would be a perfect fit."

A sense of purpose stirred within Elise as a pale hand emerged from the depths of the mirror, an invitation to an unknown purpose.

"Let us work together to protect our queen," the voice urged

With a mixture of dread and resolve, Elise reached out, her hand trembling as it met the cold grasp of the pale hand.