Antheroses (Pt. II)
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|| CHAPTER 41 | Antheroses (Pt. II) ||
"Written only in legends, unseen by people, and yet hunted 'till this day–– 'till the world comes to an end...
"Running, running, running–– running is all they will ever do.
"Legends say these beings finally found a home in a forest where illusions are naturally formed around them, giving them the perfect place to stay if those greed-filled Livings are to hunt them on their trails once more.
"Little one, promise me one thing.
"Protect them. Protect these beings of that breathe, that walk the same earth as you do. Whether they are only from the fantasy of a human's mind or even ones that have proved their existences; protect them all."
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"... Have you found them yet, Hakufuu?"
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Bold words resounded throughout the lonesome room filled with only stacked up books and papers flying cutting between the dense silence.
A man sat by his desk, forehead pushing his linked hands with dim lights that only showed everything but his eyes–– worry and dread remaining hidden behind closed doors.
The silence only went by for a split second.
But that one second felt like an eternity, waiting for an answer to reveal itself.
Another soul kneeled before his master, wings tucked back and the hems of his attire draping over the carpeted floor. The long silver locks he bore lost their light the moment he entered the room a few minutes ago, dominated by the dimly lit space.
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His silence was already showing the obvious.
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The way his eyes dared not to meet his master's own.
The way his fist clenched as its knuckles met the ground.
The way he swallowed thickly, feeling a lump forming in his throat.
The way his stomach churned uncomfortably.
The way his teeth gritted against each other behind closed lips.
An answer was already given.
The wind blew right in, leaving no time for an argument from the wooden-rimmed shutters. One banged against the wall, trapping the crimson curtain between them. Another remained strong and locked up, praying that the winds wouldn't be strong enough to shatter its glass.
Eito heaved a sigh.
A side of him hoped that they would be able to find the children soon–– his own children soon.
It was just days after the new term had just begun and trouble had already stirred around the corners.
The Head of the Ichijou Family unlinked his hands and slowly opened his eyes.
The way his hands revealed the dark circles beneath his eyes told the story.
His head ached greatly, but the pain in his chest was greater. He pinched the bridge of his nose, then to his temples, and finally resting by the side of his head. The worry that hadn't subsided for days: "It has been three days since they've disappeared."
His words broke the intense stillness.
Hakufuu flinched. He felt as if his lungs had failed to work the moment his master uttered those words of disappointment.
Although he knew that they weren't pointed towards him, it still felt like so.
The tengu looked up in concern, finally noticing how exhausted his master was.
The skinny condition his body was in, the dark circles under his eyes–– sleep-deprived and tired–– the messy state of his office. Even the untouched food rotting in one of the corners. For someone who was a neat freak, it was indeed concerning to see how the books were out of their shelves and the papers were in places.
"Master, I––"
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Another lump was formed.
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"–– ..."
Hakufuu knew not of how to respond to his master's statement, only to whisper a sincere apology in the end.
He, himself, felt utterly pathetic for failing to find the children–– the ones he had looked after since birth.
And once another hush kicked in, only the moon was there to accompany them.
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The same moon was looking after the souls that were chasing about.
The creaks of the trees, the rustles of grass, the chimes of the eery cold wind, and the screams of men.
It had only seemed to be a day screwed into the memory lane of time, but a day that felts likes weeks.
–– they were back.
Those men they tried hard to shake off their tails were back.
And they were not only after them this time, but the unfortunate Antheroses as well.
"Dammit, those pesky men don't know how to give up, do they?" Orion cursed under his breath and barely dodged a knife heading straight towards him. "It's a good thing these gym clothes have the school's spells in them. I feel much lighter than normal."
Several unshrunken Antheroses charged at the mysterious men with their large antlers, knocking them into the ground hard. They kicked them with their hooves as the men spew out blood from the attack.
"Oh, gracious Gaia, you guys are strong!" Vinnetra proudly patted the neck of the Antheros that he was riding, earning a happy and positive response from it.
"I thought we are going to protect them from those nasty men, but it's the opposite, huh?"
Shizuka looked back while she hugged the Antheros she was riding, rubbing her cheeks against its neck. It mewled happily back at the affection.
"Ack! How can you be so cute?"
'I thank you for your kind compliment, human child. But we must hurry and look for your friends before they capture them,' Winspher told them telepathically, returned by the children's nods.
"That's what you're thinking in this situation?! Be more aware, will ya'?!" Orion exclaimed in disbelieve, followed by the disapproving look of the Antheros he rode on.
"Oh, don't be such a stuck up. You're gonna get wrinkles if you're angry all the time."
"What did you say, you, blood-sucker?!"
"Huh––?! I told you, I'm no blood-sucker!! Vampire blood runs in our veins, but their nightly, blood-sucking activities do not...!!"
"Bla bla bla, someone's coming at ya'."
"Gah...!! Get away from me!!"
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"Did you secure it?"
"Yes, I did. It won't get away now, fufufu~"
Two men with black clothing discuss among themselves as they looked at a large silver cage.
Inside it, lied the baby Antheros that the fourth group encountered a while ago. Besides the large cage was another cage made out of large and hard roots, forming a dome. With dried-up leaves and thorns surrounding each bar, it was almost impossible to hold onto them without letting a seep of blood out.
And yet, the kids that had been taught to not fear death itself dared themselves.
It was proof of their vow towards the God of the Sun.
The droplets of red dripped down their hands, slowly painting the ground the same hue.
Kishi began to shake the rooted cage, ignoring the pain his hands were met with. He held onto the thick roots of the dome, screaming his lungs out. "Hey!! Let us go, you, jerks!!"
"What do you want with us, anyways?!" shouted Yuzuru with bruised hands, drenched with red. He kicked the dome but to no avail, only to find the roots reforming themselves even after faults formed in their fibres.
"HehehehhehehhHHAEHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAH!!!!" one of the men cackled hysterically, covering his eyes with his gloved hand, his other hand holding onto his stomach.
The laughter only came to an end a while after, widened eyes meeting with shaky looks from the students hiding in the backside of the cage, dreading what would come next.
"We'll just have some fun experimenting with you kids~" the other stated with a crazed look on his face.
"We just got a report," someone reported, emerging from the shadows forming behind them. Even in a room with almost no light, that one shadow was oddly thicker than the others. "Four kids and Antheroses, they reported."
"Well, isn't that some news~? Once we round all of you up, we can sell you with the Anthroses. It'll be like throwing two birds with one stone."
The children stiffened.
'Sell you,' they said.
Kishi bared his fangs naked, gritting his teeth at the appearances of unpleasant thoughts invading his head.
"Don't you dare...!!" Yuzuru screamed, rattling the dome they're in once more.
The hostility they showed wasn't enough to even startle the cloaked men. Once they committed to doing illegal actions, none can stop them aside from death itself. Even in the face of the reaper, mercy wasn't to be given to the guilty souls of the Livings.
One walked up, getting a pair of knives out in each of his hands.
He played around with them until finally, they landed with a clear sound that ripped through their eardrums.
He took off his mask and grinned.
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"Now, which part of you should I disassemble first~?"
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"Do you see them?" Vinnetra asked, all the while eyeing the ground carefully.
"Nope! Nothing here!" Orion exclaimed from the other side while Shizuka did the same.
"Where might they be..." Isseiris muttered in concern. His eyes traced the map in his hands, searching for their life signal, even for just a dot–– a second.
However, there was none found for the last half an hour.
They could use their magic again thanks to the help of the Antheroses magic auras. The other three saved their energy for later as Isseiris used him to find the others. The Antheroses fought valiantly against those men without any casualties to their kind.
It was a sight to see, really.
The mythic beasts fighting before them with such grace.
It only took Orion every attempt to wake them up to reality before physically slapping them in the back.
The eyes of the young kept searching the grounds below, finding only the top of trees and dirt. However, they stopped as soon as a giant pink net was formed in front of them, preventing them all from moving forward.
"What in Gaia's name––?! What the hell is that?!" Vinnetra exclaimed, nearly slipping when he held onto the Antheros' neck for dear life, hugging it tightly.
"A... net...?"
Orion tried sticking a branch he randomly found onto it.
As he tried to grab it back, it won't budge one bit. The glue-like substance left a print on the stick when the boy attempted to pull back more. One way or another, the net always found its way back to something it had marked.
"That's real sticky alright... Better be careful there."
The male patted the Antheros and it nodded in agreement to him.
"Can we cut through––?" Shizuka tried to cut it with a kitchen knife they borrowed (stole) before from one of the houses, but it ended up stuck there, "It's a 'NO,' then."
The men from before were catching up to them quickly, having the Antheroses by the rear held them off, kicking them far and far away. But they kept coming one after another, even after most of them were knocked off by the Antheroses.
'This way, all of you! Make haste!'
They all followed behind Winspher, twisting at a corner and changing their direction to avoid the men's attacks.
"They just keep coming!! Can't we just kill 'em once and for all?!" Orion exclaimed in panic as he and his Antheros jumped up and down, dodging fire blasts from behind.
One slip of a hand and that was all it took for him to fall.
"KILL?! ARE YOU INSANE??!! WE'RE FREAKING STUDENTS, FOR GAIA'S SAKE!!!" Vinnetra shouted as he shot most of the men with needle-like blood. They all looked at the black-haired boy astonished as most of the men went down.
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"What? What are you looking at?"
"You probably just killed them, you mor–– you know what? I'm not even gonna care anymore."
Orion started to speed-shot balls of fire from his hands, burning the men in the process as well.
"True, we already broke some of the school rules by not attending class for the whole day, going outside the school..." Shizuka kept listing the rules that they broke while sending light-based birds whilst they charged and stabbed the men.
"Doesn't hurt to break some more while we're at it."
She shrugged as the group stared at her with wide eyes. Orion seemed to agree with the girl's crazy idea as he shot more fireballs at the men.
'Children, are you sure you want to do this? You will get in trouble for doing so,' Winspher reasoned with the four children, looking with concern with eyes reflecting their attacking figures.
"Nah, we're good. They're not even looking for us," Vinnetra said blandly. He then vented his frustration on the men, skillfully kicking and hitting as he jumped from one to another.
"I think it's because we're in someone else's Space. We need to get out of here as fast as we could and get the adults to rescue the others," Isseiris suggested calmly as he chanted some water spells to support the Antheroses.
"Time might be different here than the real world."
"Great idea, but how do we get out again? Hmm...?" Vinnetra inquired impatiently as he kept knocking them onto the ground, one by one.
"Uh, Vin-san, maybe you should calm down first..."
"Calm down? Calm down?! How. Can. I. Calm. Down?" he spelt as he summoned his spirit, "Come, my spirit, I hereby order you as your master... Ileveshe, maiden of death and despair... I summon you to aid me in my battle as I finish my enemies!!!"
Lightning struck down as the men covered their eyes from the bright light. A woman with long black hair and bandaged eyes appeared in front of them. She was wearing a simple sleeveless white dress and no shoes. There were stitches and scars everywhere on her bare, pale skin.
"Ileveshe!! Take them down!!!"
The female replied in incoherent words as she clawed the men with her long nails relentlessly. She didn't even flinch as they shoot her. Her wounds closed back as the scar stayed imprinted there. She looked like she was laughing when she was shot. But she made no noise.
Shizuka got a little scared at Vinnetra since he's been a little-- scratch that, VERY angry lately. Isseiris assured the girl as Orion joined Vinnetra in handling all the men.
They finally went down and the Antheroses could fly freely again with the children on top of them. Vinnetra apologized over and over again for scaring the platinum-blonde-haired girl, which flustered her a lot as they apologized to each other in the end.
Orion got a little annoyed and hit both of their heads as they cried a river while holding the spot that Orion hit.
"Euuunnnngggggg... It hurts..."
"Meanie..." the two pouted at the ash-blonde as another vein popped and he tried to charge at them, but his Antheros took him away from the two, preventing them from even touching. Isseiris chuckled at their childish behaviours as the Antheroses did as well.
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As they land on a vast field, they set up a little camp near the edge of the forest. The children went out to grab some firewood as the Antheroses returned to their little mini size, their leader as well.
"Can these twigs burn though?" Vinnetra asked as he stared at a few sticks he was holding.
"Can hurt to try?" Shizuka said as she picked some off the ground compiling them into the bag as Isseiris found some berries.
"It'll be a waste if we brought all this back and we can't light them on fire." Orion said as he emits fire, "Should I do it? I'm gonna do it."
He lit the sticks on fire, burning them instantly into ashes and simply not expecting his sudden burst of power.
"OI! OI! OI! NOW WE GOTTA FIND SOME MORE!!!" Vinnetra yelled out while he grabbed some twigs and sticks quickly as he stuffed them into the bag, away from the reach of the ash-blonde male.
"Hey!! Give the bag here!! I need to put these in!!!"
"No!! You're probably going to burn the bag too!!! I don't trust you!!!"
Orion chased the raven black-haired male in a circle as Isseiris and Shizuka watched from the sidelines, snacking on some wild berries. Isseiris grabbed the bag from Vinnetra as he hung it on his back, "Come on, let's go back."
"Yes~," Shizuka grinned and she followed the taller male like a little duckling. Vinnetra mused at her little antics as Orion grabbed a few more sticks before following them.
As they arrived at their camp area, they immediately dropped all their things and stared at the place agape and in disbelieve.
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"Wh--"
|| To be continued... ||
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