What Are You Doing?

Attempting to salvage the situation between Star and Jingliu before it got out of hand, Yuuto had Star sit down in front of him.

"So what were you doing inside there and most importantly how?"

[...I don't know…]

"Just tell me, I won't be mad I promise."

[...I just had a feeling that something yummy would be there and I made my way inside.]

"Still doesn't explain how you got inside that wine compartment."

Stealing a glance from inside that booth's compartment, he noticed a small section that was sealed off. Not only that but hidden away from plain sight.

"Out of all the other ones too, you have an unusual appetite for the strangest things."

"A strange little one for sure."

[Hmph–!]

Jingliu threw in a sly choice of words which received a cold shoulder from Star as if she didn't find her words amusing.

Still, Jingliu was honestly impressed with how this small fox was able to enter the compartment as only a few people knew of its location. In addition to the countless engravings she implanted in the past which needed a special code.

This little fox managed to enter it without any trouble. 

"I'll replace the wine if you want as an apology for this sneaky little thing." Yuuto offered as he lifted Star.

"No need, I might not have the time to indulge myself in the future so it would be a waste."

"Really now…"

Yuuto chose to nod as this decision didn't surprise him that much considering the goal she was currently working towards.

Feeling like the mood was turning a bit bleak, he turned to Star who was now looking at Jingliu with a vague look. Yuuto raised his shoulder and gestured with his eyes for Star to do something.

At first, Star was a bit apprehensive but after some coaxing from him, Star hopped off his shoulder and went towards Jingliu.

[...I'm sorry for taking it but you should still take it just in case. Like if you have a break…]

Jingliu was silent but this scene made her remember some moments from her past which brought a subtle satisfaction to grow inside her.

"So this little one has some manners." She raised her finger and placed it under Star's chin.

"But I still won't forgive you for that comment earlier."

[Ow! Don't flick my nose!]

Star glared at Jingliu who suddenly flicked her and after sticking her tongue out, she ran back to Yuuto who stayed silent the entire time.

"I guess that sounds like you guys made up?"

"I'll accept it for now."

"For now? Still holding a grudge for what she said?"

"Not really." Jingliu crossed her arms. "Age signifies the tribulations one has endured so I don't mind."

Sounding rather profound, Yuuto had an inkling that there was more meaning behind her sentence but he decided that it was a smart thing not to point it out.

Feeling like being ignorant was the best choice.

With the slight mishap finally being over, Yuuto looked at the time and felt like it would be a good time to return to the station where the others were.

Jingliu was of the same thought as she needed to do something while the chaos was finally brewing within the Luofu and the Cloud Knights being distracted was the best opportunity she had.

"Will we meet again later or is that put on hold?"

"I'm not sure but if you want to stay for a few minutes after the moon rises and wait for me."

Being about to leave, Yuuto nodded as Jingliu talked about their original training session that should have been taken later tonight but after meeting sooner, she decided that it was up to him.

He thought of the things she could teach him and one that stood out the most was making use of the Core Esse he formed.

Despite her saying that there would be a better harmony between the 'body' and 'mind'. He had yet to fully experience the effects it would bring him.

{.......}

As he thought about his Core Esse, Yuuto felt a faint tug in his ear but it faded shortly after he focused on it. He felt like this was a good sign but he had to wait for it to show its full effects.

[I feel something strange, Yuuto…]

While his thoughts wandered, Star spoke in his mind as she suddenly felt uneasy which was different from how she usually was.

"What is it?"

[I don't know but I feel anxious…]

Now that was something he didn't want to hear. 

At first, he looked at Jingliu to see if she was the culprit but he also noticed that she was staring right at something in the distance.

Curious, Yuuto used [Clarity] to see what was causing her to act like that. And he was surprised to see a growing number of people gathering on the outskirts of the forest.

.

"Why is there a group forming over there…?"

Usually, this wouldn't necessarily alarm him as the Luofu was currently under panic with the revival of the Arbor.

But this situation was different as the people wore uniforms belonging to the Alchemy Commission and not the Cloud Knights. 

Accompanied by the faint screams of people.

Instantly, Yuuto and Jingliu ran towards the source of this commotion and once they reached a certain distance, their eyes turned even colder than what they already were.

"Shut it. Unless you want to be next then keep your mouth shut."

"HMMMM!!"

"They should be grateful that we're even welcoming them. Having the honor to be part of our undying army…"

"Stop talking and start using the pellets we're given."

Hidden within the canopy of trees was a group of alchemists with individuals having their hands tied together. Around 20 of them were in the middle and all of them were struggling to break free from their restraints.

But what was even more revolting was that the alchemists were force-feeding some of the captives a certain type of medication.

One that was brown but had ominous yellow veins pulsating on the pellet's surface.

"No!! No! N—-"

One man who was fed the pellet first began to convulse as if he was having a seizure before a scream that didn't sound human came out of him.

Through the skin, the mouth, and eyes. Golden branches with matching colored leaves sprouted out of him at a rapid pace. Devouring his body before no sight of humanity was left except for his frame.

The other captives who saw this froze in shock seeing one of their kin turning into a mara-stricken abomination and they began to resist even stronger. 

"Haha!! Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!!"

A crazed and dark laugh came from the alchemist who fed the man the pellet and his breath turned rough seeing the newly formed monster in front of him.

"A beautiful form… there must be another one…"

Locking his eyes on another victim beside him, the alchemist let out a sadistic laugh. "You don't need to worry~~ You shall ascend and accept the power of Abundance within yo—"

In the midst of his soliloquy, the alchemist felt half of his body suddenly turn cold and felt his vision blur. Confused, he looked around but all he saw was everyone blankly staring at him.

"What are you looking—"

—THUD

"Where did you get that?"

The alchemist felt a cold breath go down his spine and he looked down at his right arm.

Or what was left of his right arm?

"Shit! Wh-Who are you!?"

Feeling the blood leave his body through his severed arm, the alchemist moved back as a woman with thick bloodlust calmly walked toward him.

A pale blue sword with heaps of ice that formed every time she walked. Jingliu looked right at the man who struggled to run away.

"I will ask you once again. Where did you get that?"

"Why would I tell you!? You damn bitc—"

In an instant, the words that threatened to come out were brought to a premature end. With a severed head flying through the air, Jingliu looked at the mara-stricken abomination at her feet.

The restraints were on the brink of being destroyed and was about to attack her but her sword was faster.

A clean strike to the temple. Its body trembled before it finally collapsed in just under five seconds.

"Who is this insane woman…!?"

Another alchemist just a few meters away cursed under his breath as he saw one of his peers die so abruptly. Seeing that the others were in the same state, he began to reach into his pocket for an item.

"I will stop you right there."

About to pull his hand out, the man felt a person grip his wrist and before he could react he felt a cold sensation envelop him. Leaving his entire body encased in a bed of dense ice.

"Based on their uniforms and actions so far, they must be part of the Sanctus Medicus."

Yuuto grimly looked at the man who turned into an abomination after ingesting a certain type of pellet and thought about how it matched up perfectly with the Sanctus. 

Yuuto who raised his hand which caused a flag to appear, waved it once and formed countless snowflake sigils underneath the captives who were tied up.

Mixed into the sigils were the warm hues of gold and blue that caused the wounds some of them had slowly closed up.

"Warm…"

"I'm saved…: 

"They mentioned that a miracle would happen…."

Yuuto tuned out the last sentence he heard from one of the captives at the end but seeing the alchemists still standing around with dumbfounded faces, he decided to take advantage.

A single gesture and around 20 spears appeared in the air before Yuuto motioned them to fall. The alchemists broke out of their reverie sensing the spears floating above their heads and some attempted to get away.

Other bolder ones decided to stay and fight back by ingesting a pill causing their bodies to morph and change into a state of being mara-struck.

Luckily for them, there was a woman who would gladly enjoy their company.

"I'll let Jingliu handle those guys."

Without him even asking Jingliu was already fighting against the alchemists who turned into mara-stricken beasts.

While he took the role of catching or trapping the others who wanted to run away.

"I need some information right now. And what better source is from the person themselves." 

With a single step, Yuuto appeared in front of another alchemist who watched Jingliu attack his peers and placed his palm over the man's face.

"Since you don't have any morals playing around with people's lives, you wouldn't mind if I take a look in that head of yours?"

"No… I-I—-AHHHHHH!!"

The man's head began to feel as if it was being ripped apart and someone was just digging deeper into his skull.

"So Xiao Ju was being active… there also seems to be some deep division within the Sanctus Medicus. Mauve Moon is acting under different orders compared to Dan Shu."

Yuuto immediately thought of Phantylia seeing the change from the game and the appearance of these pellets being force-fed to victims of the disaster. 

"Wait, is this how those mara soldiers Jingliu found the other day were made…"

Recalling the night when he met Jingliu for the first time on the Luofu, she mentions that there was a warehouse filled with mara soldiers.

And based on what he saw right now…

"You guys are scum."

Yuuto took his hand off the alchemist and saw how he limply fell to the ground. 

"I should inform Fu Xuan and Jingyuan of the distribution of these pellets and tell them to keep an eye out."

Feeling like this had a large chunk of Phantylia's involvement, Yuuto wanted to chase that Lord Ravager down and beat the living lights out of her.

But that could only wait as there seemed to be more pieces to the memories he got from this alchemist. 

"So these things were more on Mauve Moon's orders but there's still…"

Yuuto skimmed through the memories to learn more about the situation within the Sanctus Medicus. But every few fragments, there seemed to be some mention of the 'healer lady'. 

And this title brought one person to mind.

"What does Bailu have to do with this…?"

Wanting more information, Yuuto walked to some unconscious alchemists that he managed to trap and took some of their memories regarding Bailu.

While some of them didn't have anything useful, a few had snippets from overhearing conversations made by the higher-ups in the faction. 

"What are you doing?"

"Ah–, are you finished?"

"For now. A few of them don't want to talk, especially the one who decided to attack me first."

Yuuto followed Jingliu's finger and saw the mess of a man who had his limbs severed and sat in a pool of his own blood. 

Strangely enough, he was not on the brink of death where most people would be. Instead, his life force was exceptionally strong and didn't have any signs of disappearing.

Sensing that this man could be considered the leader of sorts for this group, Yuuto walked to him in an attempt to extract information.

"Haha! So the pretty boy over here is going to have his fun now."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Go ahead and try your best to get something out of me."

–PTUI

Yuuto raised his hand and a field of mist blocked the bloody spit headed towards him and he watched as the man gave a crooked smile through his mara-ridden face.

"The pleasure is all mine."

Returning his crooked smile at him, Yuuto gripped the man's face harder than usual and a heavy white light escaped his palm.

At first, the man was a bit shocked to see light fill his vision. But what came next made him clench his teeth trying his best to fight this unusual searing pain.

It wasn't physical but it felt like his entire body was on fire and at the slightest touch his mind would collapse and fold onto itself. 

Collecting himself, Yuuto managed to find a large lead for what he was looking for.

'Mauve Moon seems to have his sights on Bailu for some reason and is aiming to capture her.'

He wasn't sure if he should be worried for another reason but Yuuto knew that Bailu was now on a high-priority list for the Sanctus Medicus.

"You.. bastard… that hurts…"

Interrupting his thoughts, the man continued to calm his pounding headache but seeing the calm atmosphere Yuuto was letting off, he knew that he must have gotten something.

Cursing under his breath, he knew that this group of his was doomed.

—BZZT BZZT

While Yuuto organized the abundant memories he had gotten, his phone began to vibrate continuously and he noticed that it was March.

"Yes?"

[What do you mean, yes? Where are you!?]

Yuuto pulled his ear away from his phone as March began asking where he was.

"You won't believe this…"

[Yes, I will definitely not believe it.]

"No, like you won't believe this."

Trying to calm down March who sounded a bit agitated, Yuuto told her to get Stelle and Welt while he explained what he encountered.

From alchemists turning innocents into mara abominations to information about plans to kidnap the young lady of the Vidyadhara. He told them everything he managed to gather so far.

[So there's a situation like that…]

"Hmm? Is that Miss Fu Xuan?"

[Indeed it is. If you don't mind me asking where you are at the moment.]

Yuuto looked around and saw Jingliu getting rid of some of the alchemists who turned into abominations. While the remaining captives helped each other get out of their restraints.

"I'm in a forest near the station you guys are at…"

A moment of silence came from the phone before Fu Xuan eventually spoke again.

[Let me ask you, do you mind meeting up with our lieutenant just a few areas away from you?]

"For what reason?"

[As you suspected earlier Madam Bailu is being targeted by the Sanctus Medicus and they have already begun to act. Madam Bailu has been reported to be missing from the commission and a search is being conducted.]

[I am unsure of their motives at the moment but the divination that I received just a few minutes prior stated that 'A reunion of the past will decide the ripples of the future.']

"A rather cryptic divination."

[Many divinations are similar to this. It is up to us to decipher the meaning of the stars.]

"So why do you want me to meet up with your lieutenant?"

[He is currently pursuing some potential culprits.]

"Still not answering my question."

[...He has gone off route and is currently running around the Luofu blindly… the location you stated is the closest to him…]

"So you need my help?"

[Yes.]

"Hmm.. sure but you need to ask properly again."

[Pardon?]

"You know~~"

Silence began to envelop the other side of the phone and the sounds of teeth grinding grew louder by the second.

[....Pretty please…]

"Oh! You added the pretty at the start? Then I'll leave right away, see you soon."

Yuuto heard some hushed whispers after he spoke and March finally took the call back.

[Yuuto, you're pretty brave…]

"It's nothing. Just basic manners."

[But still…]

He didn't mind as Fu Xuan was the one asking him a favour. But honestly, he would have done the task regardless considering the potential ties this scheme had with Phantylia.

Preparing to leave and informing Jingliu of his departure, he felt someone tug on his sleeve.

"Excuse me but are you going towards the Alchemy Commission?"

"Yes I am… and you are?"

"Ah! Sorry, I am a new member of the Alchemy Commission and I was on duty healing some of the injured. But I was kidnapped and…"

Yuuto looked at the young girl who looked a bit depressed as she recalled the past and he felt a bit bad for her.

"So you overheard my conversation and wanted to tag along?"

"Yes! B-But it might be too much of a hassle…"

"Don't worry. I just need to escort you right?"

"Yes, and you don't need to do anything else!"

He thought about the implication this request had and after weighing the pros and cons, he decided to accept.

"Sure but we'll be leaving right away."

"Of course, I will just follow you from behind!"

"Perfect." Yuuto chuckled seeing such a bubbly person. "By the way, I still haven't gotten your name."

The girl adjusted her black-rimmed glasses and her bright pink eyes shined in a bright impish glint. 

"My name is Sparkle!"