BLACK AND WHITE

"It's not doing anything!" exclaimed Alicia.

"This isn't a comfortable situation! Where has the old runt gone?"

"I left him with the elders back in the village... look, we need to get him out of here!"

"We won't be able to until we take action against the vurhan. We won't go too far if we start running! He or Slejj are the only ones that can kill it."

They'd been thrown together in a potentially dangerous situation. Daito had been knocked out moments before while trying to deflect a boulder fired at the two state guards by the vurhan. H e was left for dead on the ground.

The dirt and pebble fragments sprayed the two girls fiercely, covering the whole patch of open field within the forest with dust. They were fortunate that the vurhan's explosion of Purple energy had missed them and detonated right next to them on the deck. It sized up the scenario, ready for another shot.

The icy embrace of terror was experienced by Alicia as a stream of adrenaline flooded her body. She returned her gaze to Lora, who seemed relaxed, maybe too calm for a situation like the one they were in. She reasoned that this wasn't the first time a mythical beast had thrown boulder chunks at her. As if it were giving an alert, the vurhan shrieked repeatedly.

"We have to get out of here!" exclaimed Alicia.

"You can't really use the blade! What was the point in bringing it in the first place?" Lora asked.

"I have no idea Nephilim swords could do much more than slice apples! Quit whining and take his other hand; I'll take his right, and we'll get him out of here!"

Lora shouted at Daito sarcastically, dragging him by his hand.

The dust that had been obscuring them was swept away by a powerful gust of wind, leaving them wide open. The vurhan slowly cocked its head, his eyes settling on them.

"I'm going to murder you!!!"

The girls' faces were deformed by visible terror. That was unimaginable! Is it true that a vurhan can converse?

Confusion and paranoia had dulled their senses to the point that they didn't see the globe of black and purple mass approaching them. Doom was coming, and they all knew there was no chance they could avoid it in time. The vurhan's strong blast released such huge streams of radiation that it scorched the grass sticking out of the ground as it soared closer and closer to them. It started to shimmer as it approached, emitting a purplish radiance, a strong indication that things were about to get worse.

AT THE SAME TIME IN AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION

Slowly but steadily, the semblance of calm was eroding. Any person in the environment was packed with a feeling of unease. The separation of power among them could be discerned from the way the room was set up and how each of them assumed their positions around the structure, even from the way they spoke.

The party consisted of eight members in all. Two people sat on elevated thrones in front of the structure, facing the entry. Two more sat on smaller thrones beside them, one to either side, one to the left and one to the right. Another person stood by one of the four thrones, next to a pillar. The sixth person stood on an elevated platform in front of the thrones. He was being pursued by the seventh, who was trailing him to the platform.

The others took up positions facing each other on either side of pillars to the right of the structure.

The architecture of the room was illuminated by the flickering illumination of a candelabra at the platform's end, in front of the four thrones. All of the guests wore colossal cloaks that protected their bodies from the flickering illumination of the candles. They even wore hoods over their heads.

"Don't you think waking them up at this hour is a terrible idea?"

One of the smaller thrones echoed with a feminine accent.

"It's an emergency, so I'd suggest you hold your mouth shut and let me do what I come here to do," the figure on the platform said.

In a mocking tone, the feminine voice giggled.

The man on the platform approached the candelabra and unsheathed his dagger, which was hanging from a strap around his waist. He cut his wrist and held it above the candles' fire. The flames flickering over the candles turned crimson, emanating sparkling ruby embers that disappeared as they reached the ceiling.

The big thrones were occupied by two inanimate figures. When blood touched the flames and they burned out, they began to shift slowly, as if the ritual had summoned them.

"Administrator, what precisely do you want?"

Their coordinated deep voices reverberated across the building.

"Hey, dude, what was so crucial that you had to summon us all?"

A individual standing next to one of the four pillars inquired. When standing against the wall, he fidgeted with a knife.

"Keep your wits about you, young man! The masterminds are discussing!"

Hissing back at him was the other figure who had cut his hand. The man on the pillar shrugged his shoulders and resumed his blade-playing.

"Masters... I'm sorry for interrupting your meditation, but the situation is urgent!"

"Go ahead!"

They roared.

"The fourth head, Dakario, has informed me that the vurhan Jericho has been triggered without notice... for the past twenty-two minutes, to be precise."

He said this as he motioned to the man who had preceded him onto the platform behind him.

Before the master heads spoke again, there was a long pause.

"How does that affect us?" their synchronized voices asked.

"It's critical, masters; Jericho is an important part of my plan's first step. It's possible that now that he's been found, the matter will get more complicated."

"Dakario! speak to us..."

The animated figures spoke, addressing the other man on the stage with their voices.

The whole room's gaze was drawn to the figure standing on the stage. When he kept the embers up, his eyes were glued shut and embers dissipated from his palm.

"Please accept my apologies, my masters... Dakario is actually attending to Jericho, so he won't be able to interact with us. He won't let him go before he's through with him."

"... Very well then. What is your plan administrator?"

"In the event that this kind of occurrence disrupted the current process, I had already set out a contingency plan."

"Of course you did,"

In a teasing tone, the figure fidgeting with his dagger said. On stage, the figure did his utmost to ignore him.

"As I previously said, I already have a backup plan in place, which may or may not be successful."

"Keep going."

"We make touch with the Tyrant..." Tyndale, ladzgery! "

The other five figures responded in kind: some exclaimed loudly, some shook their heads in outrage, and the blade fidgeting one smiled softly under his breath. The two masters appeared unfazed. There was a long silence until the masters agreed to speak again.

"All right, then! "

The other figure, who was sitting on one of the smaller thrones, rose and addressed the masters, his large frame noticeable through the long cloak on his back.

"But, with all due regard, masters, it's unlikely. I tried to recruit him on my own, and it nearly cost me my life!"

"Kanchi, I didn't mention anything about him being recruited! I plainly said that I wanted to get in touch with him. If we suggest an alliance and bid him fair terms, he will have no choice but to cooperate with us. Apart from that, what he has to realize is that it entails him obtaining his most cherished desires."

"So what is that?"

The female voice inquired.

"Power is what any dictator craves. What we have to do now is persuade him to support us before the next Delegates conference..."

Dakario, the figure behind him, finally jolted awake from his stupor. And painful convulsions, he sprawled to the ground. The red embers were dissipated by his eyes, mouth, and hands. They went down for a while, as did the convulsions. Except for the figure standing beside the pillar with his dagger, his abrupt waking caught everyone's attention.

Dakario was lying on the floor, his hood down, exposing his profile, a small, slender face with a pointed nose protruding in the centre. A tear escaped his eye and fell to the deck. With an expression of disbelief on his face, he lifted his head and addressed the figure in front of him.

"Jericho is no longer alive!"