The Void Wolf

Chapter 39: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back Pt.3

Rhys, also known as the former number one Mercenary within the entire Grenitian Kingdom and for good reason too. Though not many people had ever seen her fight she was estimated to have an S- rating. Her silent and masked appearance made her an enigma to everyone else, people made guesses toward the reason behind her masked appearance but no one knew the truth.

Rhys stood in front of a mirror inside of a dimly lit room. Her mask sat on a table to the side while she looked at the mirror. Her overall appearance could be considered somewhat above average, but she had a more eye-catching feature and that was the two lightning scars that ran down her forehead and over her eyes, they even continued down her spine and toward the back of her limbs. The damage wasn't just on the surface, even her vocals cords were damaged making it difficult for her to speak. 

As Rhys raised a hand to trace over her scars she thought back to a certain moment. She had no amazing talent for magic, but she had an abnormal affinity for Lightning. When she was younger she had awakened to her strange ability and inadvertently caused damage to herself. In fact, even the people she was closest to didn't escape unscathed. She fled from her family and friends and became a Mercenary the only thing she could be good at.

Every time she completed a job, 80% of the payment was anonymously delivered to her family. Other than that she held no further interaction with them, even when they attempted to contact her. With the first payment, they expressed their worry and sadness, saying they didn't blame her for what she did. The minuscule payment of a couple dozen Gre wasn't worth her risking her life.

Over time the payments increased, and while the financial troubles of her family were alleviated, they still wished for her to stop. Rhys paid no heed and continued on, her abilities grew and her proficiency increased. She had even reached the end of her growth capacity of S- and until recently she had thought about going to see her family for the first time in years. Until the Red Moon and Golden Aurora appeared, her growth capacity was increased and her abilities grew harder to control as they increased in power. 

While everyone celebrated and grew excited at the increased strength they received, Rhys seethed with anger and despair. Her progress over the last few years had been cut in half, and to make it worse her powers kept increasing in strength. Several of her abilities had to be severely restrained. Her ability to sense positive and negative charges which allowed her to detect presences now had too much power. Metallic objects with high conductivity disrupted her senses. 

Her nerve impulses were far faster than before, she now reacted to things faster than her body could keep up with. In a battle that could be a dangerous flaw, if she dodged prematurely she could leave herself exposed to a fatal attack. She also had an ability to conduct electricity, hence her weapon of choice was a rapier, once she pierced the skin of her target all that was left was to electrocute them until they died. Before the Golden Aurora and Red Moon appeared, her weapon would look unassuming as there were no visible signs of her weapon being enhanced with lightning. But now, whenever she used her conductive ability, visible sparks would be produced. To top it off, anything in close proximity that could act as a conductor would be struck by her ability.

There was one power that she feared more than anything and that was the ability to act as a human lightning rod and summon a lightning bolt. While magicians made use of lightning, it wasn't real lightning per say. Mana would be converted into lightning which was different than the natural phenomenon that was a lightning bolt. For comparison, a natural lightning bolt traveled at around 220,000,000 mph, while lightning produced by Mana could reach 0.0001% of that or 220 mph, assuming the mage was skilled enough.

The problem was, lightning wasn't as deadly as artificial lightning, given the receiver wasn't wearing a metal suit of armor. It would strike at 10 to 50 microseconds and wouldn't be sustained long enough to be fatal with every strike, whereas artificial lightning could last as long as the Mage had mana. That's where Rhys came in, she could sustain the raw power of lightning for up to 10 seconds straight, it was something she used as a final resort if she was faced with death. Now, she was too fearful to use such an ability, it was definitely no longer 10 seconds and the power may be too much for her to control even with an immunity to electricity.

Rhys snapped back to reality and thought of one particular person. It was Ira, who appeared to be stronger than her by the ranking in the Mercenaries Union. She had first noticed him when he was injured at the gate, it wasn't because of love at first sight or attraction. It was because her particle sensory perceived him weirdly, at that time the particles around him seemed to be distorted. Others may not have noticed because it was a faint but to her, it was more than enough to be noticed. Then she had seen him again, his disruption of the particles around him grew stronger than when she first had seen him. She wondered what his abilities were and if he could rid her of her powers or at least help control them.

She grabbed her mask and looked at it, there was still one more day until the Ruin Expedition and she would once again see Ira. If her own situation was anything to go on, he would be even more powerful after the Red Moon and the Golden Aurora appeared.

 If Ira could hear the thoughts Rhys had he would definitely laugh. The removal of the barrier did absolutely nothing for him. It was a shame really, he was the direct cause of millions of people receiving boons of power, but he gained nothing in return. Over the course of the week, he racked his head on how to gain more power since he was now at a disadvantage. He scoured over the black book and couldn't come up with much to help him.

There was a ritual that allowed one to implant a heart of any magical creature into themselves, but that wasn't what he needed. Besides he could alter his own genetics to mirror another creature instead of obtaining another heart. Instead, he focused on his genetic mutation and attempted to find records of strong creatures he could kill. As expected, records detailing ancient and powerful creatures were almost non-existent and everything else was mostly legends and old tales. The only thing that looked promising were scattered reports of earthquakes in the far eastern deserts. He had a feeling there was something to be found or rather killed there. From a rational point of view, it was too inconvenient to travel there on a hunch lacking solid evidence. But Ira felt the urge to go, the potential to gain power nagged at the back of his mind.

"How long is the job?" Avery asked unconcernedly as she fixed her hair, causing Ira to turn to his side.

Currently, he was lying in Avery's bed. Her room looked as if a hurricane blew through it, which wasn't really an exaggeration. Avery had made creative use of her wings and strengthening magic, and even though she was inexperienced with her new power she had managed to avoid totally destroying the room. A few people in the Manor thought it was hit by an earthquake as Ira and Avery applied very little restraint. Luckily, the Thynne Manor was built to withstand huge attacks so there was very little danger to the lives of those inside. The only thing they suffered was discomfort and awkwardness. 

"Maybe a few months at the most. How long is your training?" Ira asked as he climbed out of the bed and put on his shirt.

Many females in the Thynne Family experienced awakenings and they would need time to adjust to their power, especially with the barrier removal. Even some of the experienced Valkyries needed to go back into brief training to control the surge of power.

"It's hard to say, something like this is unprecedented for my family. If I had to guess the next time we'll see each other is after winter." Avery refrained from tying her hair up and grabbed her saber.

Avery was reminded of when her Mother and Grandmother told her to show "moderation" before her bloodline awakened. Now that she was fully awakened did that mean she was expected to produce a child? She wondered when was the right time for her to conceive a child.

"That's a long time." Ira smiled as he interrupted her train of thought.

Winter could still be considered just starting only a few weeks had passed since it began. Avery shook her head as she erased previous thoughts, once Ira applied his Genetic Mutation the topic could be further explored. Though up until now all of their "marital activities" were conducted with very little precaution.

"Oh, before I forget. This is for you." Ira waved his left hand and produced a piece of paper he handed it over to Avery while grinning. Avery read it and then showed a strange expression.

"Is this even possible?" She asked as she continued to read. If it worked it wouldn't be hard to imagine how strong the one who used it could become.

As she continued to read she felt an almost imperceptible sense of obsession attempt to dig into her mind, fortunately for her it was easily shrugged off. Each Valkyrie had incredibly strong and stubborn will which made them immune to almost anything that had negative mental effects. "Strange. It's like it contains a curse." She said as she folded the paper and put it into her pocket.

"What do you mean?" Ira asked, clearly confused. He hated curses almost as much as he hated poison. Almost.

"You didn't feel it when you looked at it?" She inquired.

By this point she had guessed the heart implant ritual had come from the black book she had seen him reading a few times, and yet he showed no obsession with whatever information he gleaned from it. At first, she thought his will was as strong as hers, but he looked as if he didn't know what she was talking about. She began piecing together the details, he said his parents stumbled upon the same book and found out about the ritual. So did that mean their minds crumbled under the obsession the information produced? 

"As I read the paper it felt as it tried to create a sense of obsession within my mind," Avery explained. Ira furrowed his eyebrows and thought back to Charles, he tried to replicate the bloodline creation formula even while a soul contract was in place.

"Well, I should be more careful with it I guess," Ira said.

Avery wondered if he thought of his parents, but he didn't say anything on the subject so she wouldn't pry into it.

"Is it dangerous for you to use?" He asked.

"It should be fine, I'll have to speak to my mother and grandmother about it." She responded as she moved toward the door.

Ira spoke up as he followed behind her. "After you get back, you're sparring with me."

Avery gave a soft chuckle in response but she didn't disagree. 

Demons. Something people were called when they were truly monstrous or ferocious, but not many people knew that it was also the title of a certain species. A demon was a type of sub-planar entity which formed from corrupted human desires and emotions.  So why after 1000 years of silence would Demons become relevant? With the removal of the barrier, it was obvious what would happen next.

"So...Did you find someone?" A raspy voice asked. A yellow colored gaseous being appeared to be the one speaking, its form was reminiscent of a small frog. The one it talked to was in the shape of a green colored dog.

"...I did." The dog answered as it surveyed the area. Numerous demons were appearing, and the numbers continued to grow.

Before the collapse 1000 years ago it was thought that there was one demon present for each 5000 members of each sentient race, as those with intelligence usually had emotions and desires. It's just that back then those desires manifested strongly after the collapse, at a time where Demons were at their weakest. The methods of noticing Demonic possession or the qualities of Demons was more or less lost to time, though they weren't impossible to reproduce.

If one were to say, eat the raw heart of a lamb, it would easily be recognized. But if one were to be possessed by a cunning Demon, one which refused to give into such a basic practice, it would be harder to recognize. Though if the Temples sent paladins and priest to bless people, weaker demons could easily be spotted, as they weren't immune to holy power. 

"Care to tell me?" The Frog asked. The Dog continued to look out on its surroundings. The Demon world was a barren plane, it had long been inactive, but in time it would grow to look like a nightmarish reconstruction of the real World.

"I do not." The Green Dog voiced its disagreement. It's black eyes continued to watch Demons spawn, they were in a sort of infantile stage, lacking experience. They were the type to possess an old lady and make her crawl on the walls, something that would immediately call attention to Demonkind as a whole. 

"...Fine. For one who supposed to be envious, you seem to be a bit too prideful." The Frog said.

After seeing the Dog continue to ignore it, the frog floated off into the distance leaving the dog alone. The Green Dog looked around and after seeing it was alone it crawled off into a well-hidden corner. It stopped in front of a nondescript lump of dirt and began digging. In short time the dirt revealed a puddle, except the puddle, was more like a window into the human world. The process of digging was more or less a ritual to open a way into the human world, in truth those rituals varied between each demon, what was important was the intent.

Another reason the Dog was reluctant to talk about what it had found. It was hard to get into the heart of a being with intelligence, and while demons may eventually grow in number it was still difficult to materialize without a summoning ritual. People with incredibly strong desire were hard to come across, many people wanted more than they had, but it's just that most wouldn't kill for it. Even if most would kill for it, could they give up a large part of themselves for their desire? If one were to be asked to kill someone for a large sum of money, most wouldn't do it while other would. If one were to be asked to give up all of their body except for their eyes in exchange for one month of living the life they dreamed of, there would likely be none willing to do so. Withholding the truly desperate and insane. 

The Green Dog stared into the puddle intently as it watched its target.

 "Lady Juliana." A servant stood behind a young girl with dark blonde hair who was none other than Juliana Fairfax.

In the time since her interaction with Ira, she hadn't changed much, on the surface at least. Inwardly, the event she perceived as an embarrassment still bothered her. The innate narcissism that comes with separation of status didn't help to alleviate the problem. In more recent days, the days after the Golden Aurora to be specific, Juliana Fairfax had grown more distant. She had been plagued with strange dreams and would often space out, it became a source of worry for her Father, Wesley Fairfax. He had sought out many healers but they had no diagnosis, they suggested that it may not be a health problem and more of an emotional one. Of course, Wesley refused to hear it and continued to look for healers. 

"Lady Juliana." The servant spoke up once more as she lightly tapped Juliana's shoulder. As soon as her hand made contact a Golden Light emerged from Juliana as she sent the servant flying back. The room began to shake as Juliana's body began hovering. 

"Help! Someone...Lady Juliana is..." The servant crawled to her feet and ran toward the door screaming all the while.

Delvian and a few others rushed in immediately. "What happened?!" He shouted as he watched a light similar to the Golden Aurora cover Juliana. 

"I...I...I" The servant stammered. Delvian ignored her and ran towards Juliana before he reached her he was pushed back by an invisible barrier. Juliana's eyes began to emit divine rays of light as they opened. 

"...It...must...be...killed..." Her voice echoed as it shook the halls of the Mansion. It was as if her words were a divine declaration sent from the Gods. There were many names for those who received messages from Gods, Shamans, Oracles, Priestess', Diviners. But this particular one would be known as Juliana Fairfax.

Meanwhile, in the plane of Purgatory, Harper stood next to the Will of Purgatory. They watched a group of people who were chained together, each one of them cried, cursed, and screamed in unwillingness, but their feet continued to march forward into a hazy fog. 

"North." The Will of Purgatory spoke. "North from where you are, there are people attempting to make use of Purgatory just like you."

Harper looked at the Will of Purgatory but didn't speak. She had no reason to care about what other people were doing since she was just here to learn abilities from the Will of Purgatory.

"You may not care about it, but the more people manipulating Purgatory the less stable it becomes. There is a limit to how much it can interfere with the living world. Should they become as adept as you at manipulating it, you'll be directly weakened. Imagine it as you and an enemy pulling at a chain from opposite sides, the more people on their side the stronger the pull will be. As you continue to hold on you will have to exert a considerable amount of energy and should you slip up one time it will all be taken from you." The Will explained.

Harper started to pay attention at the mention of her being weakened. "So teach me something then," Harper grumbled. 

The Will of Purgatory smiled before she pointed toward the constant intake of people in chains. "I am teaching you, can't you see?" She asked. Harper looked at her then looked to those in chains before speaking.

"You've been making me watch these people walk for hours." She said exhaustedly.

The Will of Purgatory began to speak again, "There are seven circles in the plane of Purgatory. To even think about entering the depths of Purgatory you have to first gain an understanding. What do they all have in common?" she asked.

Harper narrowed her eyes as she looked at those in chains, they wore different sets of clothes and were all different ages. Some wore clothes stained in blood and others were clean. Their expressions were ugly and warped as they cried out or cursed venomously. "None of them want to go," Harper mumbled as she watched them enter the fog. 

"Correct. There are many unwilling to die and those who are are unwilling to be trapped here. You've taken the first step in entering the First Circle." The Will of Purgatory said as she placed a hand on Harper's shoulder. "Now return." As she finished speaking Harper woke up.

Ira, who was sitting across from her at the table, began to talk. "So? Learn anything?" He asked with undisguised curiosity. Harper then told him about everything that happened, detailing the Seven Circles of Purgatory. Ira heard the story and then came to a decision. "You aren't coming with me on the expedition."

"Why do I have to stay behind?!" Harper spoke in an aggrieved manner. "You're not staying behind, you just aren't coming with me." Ira shrugged as he ate some pastries. "...Then where will I go?" She asked as her eyes grew tearful. Since the time she had been rescued until now, she had been close to Ira or in his general vicinity. "North. There are reports of a cult up there and that's probably who you're looking for." Ira didn't show must interest as he spoke of the job. "Anyway, you go up there, kill the bad guys, and then come back. Easy enough, right?" he said in a self-assured tone.

"Y-yeah," Harper responded before she could say anything else Ira continued. "You can get help from that woman, she did say she would help you."

Ira stood up and stretched. "Well, It's time for me to leave. Find Samantha at the Mercenaries Union if you need help getting to the job."

He gave Harper a huge stack of money before he ruffled her hair. He left soon after, leaving Harper to stare at the door with uncertainty. She drummed up as much determination as she could muster. If she failed to stop others from breaching Purgatory she would be severely weakened which would be a waste of the bloodline formula Ira used on her. 

An hour later and at the entrance of the Capital, groups of carriages were stationed in a line. Various Mercenaries, Knights, Researchers, and Soldiers were occupying each one. Ira walked toward the group but stopped as his nose twitched. He sniffed the air briefly and then grinned. He could make out several familiar scents, but he set his sights on a cheap carriage near the front of the line. He confirmed his attendance with a representative before he made his way through the crowd and toward the carriage. Without a word he opened the door and climbed in. 

"Charles, long time no see." He smiled as he looked at the sickly alchemist.

The dark circles around his eyes looked as if they were made by charcoal. The gauntness of his face was also very off-putting, one would think he had been starved and deprived of sleep. Charles widened his eyes at the appearance of Ira before they sunk back down. He wanted to say 'For good reason.' in response to Ira's statement, but he refrained. "I didn't do anything." He declared in a victim-like tone. Ira looked at him and shook his head. "I never said that you did, Charles." He chuckled as he opened the curtain to the carriage so he could look outside. Charles shrunk back from the light as his eyes adjusted. 

Outside, a man who looked to be the "Guide" of the expedition began speaking, "Our destination is in the East. Our research teams have recovered signs of part of the Old Kingdom. We will enter with the goal of obtaining artifacts useful to the Kingdom, with the recent developments, failure is not an option." His voice reached all ears, the last part especially.

Those who were smart could see the potential chaos that could occur. "Now, I know some of you may hold thoughts of stomaching artifacts for yourself. We can overlook small things, but things deemed important will not benefit you. We will pay handsomely for the discovery of useful artifacts. Any attempts to smuggle things out will result in an immediate bounty of 75,000 being placed on the heads of those unwilling to comply. Should the person in question be very powerful the bounty will double and if they show deadlier resistance the bounty will continue to increase until they're dead. If you understand that, we can move." The guide finished speaking and mounted a horse. Just like that the expedition started, the weather was cold but the conditions were favorable and as they moved further East the weather would become even more favorable. 

Underground the Polyphemus patrolled the dried out remains of a once bustling city. Standing at 30-feet tall, the process of searching seemed very counterproductive, but that didn't stop the Polyphemus, in fact, it helped them. "Protect...The...King..." The mechanical chants echoed throughout the dark ruins. Rays of red light emerged from the orbs beneath their faces, they scanned over any and everything, but the buildings that still managed to retain their structure served as an obstacle.

Groups of Polyphemus stood outside of building they couldn't access due to their size, after a short period of time, the metallic skeletons being glowing with an orangish-red hue. Steam rose from the exoskeletons as their bodies reverted to a molten state. Soon the huge bodies began to compress in size, drops of liquid metal would occasionally splash the ground and fill the silence. 

"Protect...The...King..." The Polyphemus continued to chant with their newly adjusted bodies.

The mass of a 30-foot metal giant was now compressed to a more maneuverable 6-foot tall form. If any Mages or Alchemist could see the change they would go wild. The fact that they were automatons was amazing in and of itself. The truly jaw-dropping part was what appeared to be a limited intelligence, they could change their form under certain conditions in order to be more efficient. One could guess the previous 30-foot form was used to handle enemies numbering in the thousands, the Polyphemus appeared to be highly capable for manufactured machines. The truth was that was only the tip of the iceberg, they had many more abilities that made them formidable. 

"Protect...The...King..." They forced their way into the partially destroyed buildings as rays of crimson light scanned their surroundings.

They were intent on defending their "King" at all cost, it seemed to be a weakness. While it was amazing to show the ability to solve problems, they still carried out their directives even when the city was a ghost town. 

"Protect...The...King..." The Polyphemus continued searching the city for any threats until a few of them stumbled upon a tunnel. Not knowing how to proceed the Polyphemus went back to the city, all except one. "Protect...The...King..." It moved forward directly into the tunnel.

It had been a week since the expedition started, the journey was smooth and very little obstructions occurred. At the moment, the expedition team was resting, although they could travel through the night it would exhaust most people. Ira sat at a campfire with Charles, who seemed more like a captive than a guest. Conversations filled the air around them, but only the source of sound at their site was the crackling of wood and scribbling. Since Charles had nothing else to do he compiled his research. 

Ira was sprawled out in a lazy position, letting his head rest on a bundle of cloth. All of a sudden someone approached the campfire and stood over him. He opened his eyes and looked at the new arrival. A girl in a steel mask, adorning leather armor. Rhys looked at him through the mask but didn't speak, she couldn't help but notice he looked older than before, even if it was just slightly. As she stared at the 17 or 18-year-old looking youth he spoke up.

"You can sit if you want." He said as he closed his eyes again. Rhys sat down and looked at Ira, she wanted to speak but it was very difficult for her to do so. Suddenly, she turned toward Charles and looked at his notebook. 

"..." She pointed at it and then pointed at herself. Charles raised an eyebrow in confusion but eventually caught on, he tore a few pages and handed her a spare pencil.

Rhys nodded and began writing after she finished she flashed the paper toward Ira. [The air around you is strange.] 

Ira felt her movement and opened his eyes. He read the paper and chuckled, he sat up with some interest and looked at Rhys.

"Yeah? I could say the same for you," He said. Ira could sense something was off around her, it was almost like she was forcefully compressing something.

Rhys scribbled more words and then held the paper up. [Are you the same as me?]

Ira shook his head at her. "I'm not sure what you're asking. I don't even know your abilities."

Rhys hesitated before writing on the paper again. [I can control Lightning, it's a part of me.]

"What, like lightning magic?" Ira asked. Rhys shook her head no. "You can control lightning without magic?" he asked curiously. Rhys nodded her head in agreement. Charles suddenly burst to life.

"How is that possible?!" He shouted, causing a few eyes to turn toward their campfire. He quieted down and asked again. "How is that possible?"

"Is it something special?" Ira asked a bit cluelessly. Charles looked at him strangely before speaking. 

"Mana can be used in its raw form or converted into a natural element. To use lightning without converting mana is unheard of." He showed far more enthusiasm than Ira on the subject.

"Is it that rare?" Ira asked as he looked back at Rhys. 

"Rare? It's far more than that. Based on the origin forces theory there should be a force for each element. If one could use the pure force of fire they would theoretically be able to vaporize a person, now that's under the assumption they could wield it without being destroyed themselves. You know how you can manipulate the mana that pools within in you to some extent, right?" Charles asked rhetorically, but Ira looked at him weirdly.

"You can manipulate mana right?" He asked again for confirmation. Rhys looked at him and waited for him to answer. Ira stayed quiet for a second as he closed his eyes. 

"No." He answered after a brief moment. He attempted to feel for mana, but couldn't even notice anything other than what normally takes place in his body. 

"What! Then how the hell..." Charles stood up and shouted even louder than before, once again drawing the eyes of those surrounding them. He sat down and tried to calm himself. An array of questions popped into his mind and he couldn't help but look at Ira with wide eyes.

"How do you teleport without mana? Or use interspatial storage for that matter?" He asked with complete shock. Even Rhys showed a surprised reaction as a silent gasp escaped from her mouth.

"That's a secret,"  Ira responded with a grin. "Anyway, why did you come over here?" He changed the subject and questioned Rhys.

She held the pencil over the paper before shaking her head and writing. [Could you assist me in controlling or even stopping my power?] She held out the paper and slightly bowed her head.

Ira furrowed his brows and spoke. "What makes you think I could help you with that?" 

[As I've said before, the air around behaves strangely. You seem to cancel out some of my abilities, so I thought you were the best person to ask. I have no ideas of selfishly asking for help. I am willing to compensate you for your time.]

Ira thought for a second before speaking, "Alright, show me your ability."

Without saying anything further, Rhys stretched her hand toward Ira. Ira touched her hand and was immediately shocked with a small current of electricity. Other than tingling and numbness nothing really happened. 

"Are you using it?" He couldn't help but ask the force was far too weak to need assistance controlling.

Rhys nodded and released more power into her hand. Ira's muscles slightly contracted, but it still wasn't enough to spell danger. Seeing as it had no effect Rhys stopped forcefully controlling her power and slowly released more and more. Ira involuntarily flexed his muscle, the power didn't stop as it all poured in. Ira's fingertips were burnt black as the horrible smell filled the air, his skin began peeling under the power.

He tried to cancel it, but couldn't seem to figure it out.  As the electricity fried his veins and caused him to clench his teeth as his heart beat sporadically. Charles was busy murmuring to himself when the smell woke him up from his daydreaming.

"What are you doing?" Charles asked, but spark erupted from around Rhys and caused him to back away quickly.

"It's too dangerous!" he yelled, but they paid no heed.

The camp noticed the commotion and came to investigate only to see dangerous sparks of electricity expanding to the outward vicinity. Ira's body was rapidly repairing the would be fatal damage as he sought a way to control her ability. He felt there was something to be gained, but he failed to realize it. An obsessive glint shined in his eye as he refused to let go of her hand. Rhys was the same except her gaze was more hopeful than anything. His flesh being eroded and regenerated constantly, but he didn't seem to care.

He was failing to control her ability. He couldn't help but think that control was the wrong approach, and as they continued on they drew a crowd. People gathered around them, at a safe distance of course, and watched the odd spectacle. A few familiar faces were present at the scene, Lance and his party could be found in the crowd and even Carter the leader of the Smallthorn Guild watched. 

Ira suddenly opened his eyes wide as he had an idea. He figured controlling was the wrong approach so he would nullify it. Ira didn't even notice his surroundings as he tried to use the void to influence Rhys' ability. So far he manipulated the void for storage or to teleport, while both were useful they weren't extraordinary when compared to the Wolf in the Void's own abilities. Still, he couldn't be blamed, there was no one to teach him how to make use of his abilities and there were no ways to explore them until now that is. 

A faint and barely noticeable black mist began to pour from his hands and soon Rhys could no longer electrocute him. She could feel the particles around him shifting and grew excited, she wanted to ask if it would be safe to call down lightning, but she had no way of communicating it. She decided to just go for it. Sparks of electricity became more frequent and forced everyone back, there were shouts and screams but she paid it no mind and after they moved far enough away she finally did it.

A blinding light flashed, forcing those watching to close their eyes, it continued for several seconds before the sound of thunder rendered them temporarily deaf. What they didn't see was Ira getting struck by lightning. His body was covered with a thin layer of black mist which nullified the lightning as it struck him.

Everything remained silent, one by one people began to open their eyes. Some were confused and some were fearful, they looked at Rhys and Ira with cautious eyes, especially Ira. His clothes were damaged but other than that he didn't seem to have any injuries. Instead, Ira smiled with elation, he found a new ability and a useful one at that, considering that it protected him from elemental attacks.

Rhys grabbed a piece of paper and began writing. It was hard to tell with the mask, but she seemed joyful, [Can we continue?] 

Ira laughed as he pointed behind her. She turned around to see a shocked crowd staring at the both of them, the Expedition Guide had a troubled expression. If Ira and Rhys were one of the various B or even A ranked Mercenaries he would've directly reprimanded them or even expelled them from the journey altogether. Too bad they weren't, he stared at arguably the two strongest people in the Kingdom and gulped.

"...Um...I'm sorry to trouble you, but I'd ask for both of you to please show some consideration. W-We have a long journey ahead...and...uh..." He trailed off as both Rhys and Ira stared at him.

Ira spoke up, "Yeah, my bad." he gave a friendly smile which helped to dissolve the guide's tension.

After taking a visible sigh of relief he turned to the crowd, "Alright, those who aren't on guard duty should get some rest, we leave at first light."

People began to return to their campsites, albeit reluctantly, but not many had the courage to approach Ira or Rhys. A very small group of people approached Ira and called out.

"Ira!" Gerald shouted loudly. Lance and his party looked at him strangely, they couldn't help but wonder when he had gotten so close to Rhys.

Ira didn't look surprised to see them because he picked up the scent of the group before the expedition departed. He knew he would run into them at some point.

Seeing them approach he began speaking, "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Lance sent a few more glances toward Rhys before explaining, "We're here for the long-term part of the job, we'll be staying way after you leave while the researchers...research." He scratched his head with a dry laugh.

It was weird for him standing in front of Rhys for the second time, not just him even the rest of the party felt strange. Ira nodded and then turned to Rhys, "Oh yeah, this is Rhys. Rhys this Lance, Gerald, Sarah, Valerie, and Zella." He introduced them, in return Rhys nodded. "Did you guys wanna sit over at our campfire?" He asked. 

Lance was still in a bit of a daze as eyes flashed with a bit of envy. Eventually, he responded "...No, we just came over to greet you, we should rest for tomorrow." He spoke on behalf of the party. Gerald and even Sarah looked reluctant to leave, but Lance was the group leader so they kept quiet.

"Alright." Ira shrugged as Lance and his party said their farewells and left.

Rhys briefly looked at them and then wrote on her paper. [I will also get some rest. As for payment feel free to name a price. I hope you can continue to help me.]

"Don't worry about paying me, you've also helped me. If you need anything else you know how to find me." Ira said as dusted the pile of cloth that served as his makeshift pillow.

Rhys nodded and left, while Charles was the only one who was still near Ira. He grabbed his notebook and hastily began scribbling down notes of what took place. Ira paid it no mind and closed his eyes.

As they continued on the journey, Ira would practice his nullification ability with Rhys which also helped her with control and restraint over her own abilities, though there was no disruptive scene like before. He also met up with Lance and his party more than few times. Surprisingly, Carter approached Ira to say a few words of greeting, but other than that the trip progressed smoothly with the exception of light tremors in the ground. After three weeks of travel, they were just a few hours away from the ruins. 

Suddenly the ground began shaking, startling most of the horses, but it didn't cause any real damage. As they moved closer and closer to the ruins, the tremors became more frequent, happening once or twice a week.

The Guide enhanced his voice with magic and spoke as the tremor passed. "A few hundred miles east of us is the Red Sand Desert, reportedly there are frequent earthquakes. There is no need to be alarmed, we are most likely experiencing the aftershocks. Those Parvians are probably feeling much more than we are."

The Parvians were, of course, the name for the humans who dwelled in the more heated climates to the East. The Telvians stayed in the colder climates to the North, and the Grens or Grenitians stayed in the mildest climate when compared with the other two. 

No one panicked at the tremor since they had experienced it multiple times. As soon enough they approached a field heavily polluted with large stones. the Guide spoke up once again, "We have arrived."

His words instilled excitement in many people as they climbed down from their horses and carriages. The researchers began to unpack while the Mercenaries gathered up and prepared their equipment. After thirty minutes or so, most people were ready to explore the ruins but were confused as to where it was. The Guide looked at the expressions of the Mercenaries and laughed, he walked over to a large boulder and pressed his hand against it. A magical array lit up before the boulder slid out of the way and exposed a wide hole that no one could see the bottom of.

"We've deciphered encoded messages from ancient records, they detail this spot as an important part of the Old Kingdom. The site has been secured with magic to prevent intruders, but no one has explored it any further." The Guide explained. Everyone grew excited over the fact they would be the first to step foot inside the unexplored ruins.

"We have to first descend, so we will have to install the climbing equipment which will take some time. The order of entry will, of course, be, S class, The Knights, Soldiers, and a few field Researchers, A class, and finally B class. If no one wishes to set up the climbing equipment we will use our own people for it." As the Guide finished speaking someone brought over various boxes of rope and set them down. No one wished to do the manual labor so the Mercs began sitting on some of the various stones and passing the time while waiting for the preparations to finish. 

Ira sat atop a large rock and ate pastries, seemingly unconcerned with the things that took place around him. Lance and his party approached and had hesitant expressions.

"Uh...Ira?" Lance called out to him in a strangely timid voice.

"Yeah?" Ira noticed their weird expressions and responded.

"We were wondering...If you could uh...Find a way for us to enter with you."  He asked awkwardly.

Ira could clearly see the reason why they asked him, B rated mercenaries would be the very last to enter and they would be lucky if they could find anything good. Useful artifacts were brought for high prices by the Kingdom, but things like weapons and armor were allowed to be kept for personal use. Who wouldn't want to use an ancient weapon? Still, it was selfish to ask for a chance to get ahead of others, especially since they didn't earn that right themselves. 

"Alright." Ira shrugged before he hopped down from the rock.

Lance and his party showed considerable excitement at his words and almost wanted to shout.

Ira walked over to the hole and spoke to the Guide, "They're with me."

The Guide looked confused but then caught on, "Of course. If you have a party or guild members with you, they can enter with you all the same, just as long as your group doesn't exceed ten people." He said in an accommodating manner.

Ira nodded before speaking again, "When will it be done?"

In response, the Guide looked over at the Labor team as they were tying the rope to a large stone. "I'd say no longer than 10 or 15 minutes," He smiled.

Ira went into thought as he held his chin, he shook his head before rotating his shoulders and squatting a few times. Of course, his weird behavior caught attention from those closest to the site, such as Rhys and Carter. Before anyone could question him he ran forward and jumped into the hole. "See you down there." He said while in the air before falling into the darkness.

"What! Hey! Wait!" The Guide yelled after Ira as he peered over the edge of the hole. The fall wouldn't be light and even the strongest of people may be injured. Those in close vicinity ran forward with shock and waited. For a few seconds silenced pervaded the atmosphere before a loud thump was heard. 

"Ira!?" Gerald shouted down the hole as everyone waited for a response.

"What? Want me to catch you?" Ira yelled back and laughed.

Lance and his party gave a few nervous chuckles as stepped away. The Guide also shook his head, during this journey Ira seemed to cause him undue stress. Rhys looked at the hole and then took a deep breath, she jumped into the hole and followed after Ira. The Guide just watched wordlessly, if they could survive then it was well within their right to jump in. Sparks of electricity lit up the hole as Rhys stabbed her Rapier into the rock wall.

Her jump and stab method was effective but not as fast as Ira's reckless fall. Carter watched how she climbed and nodded his head in admiration. He spoke a few words to the guild members before he jumped in and repeated Rhys' method. The Guide was now faced with an impatient crowd of people they began to clamor for him to hurry, and while they wouldn't take violent action it was still best to appease them. After all, with hundreds of people taking part in the operation cooperation was needed to make it a success. 

5 minutes later the rope was thrown down, Knights and Soldiers from the Kingdom went down, followed by the Guide and some field researchers. A supervisor was left in charge of overseeing the descent. The A rated Mercenaries descended and then finally the B rated Mercenaries.

  Ira walked down a long and unnatural tunnel with Rhys and Carter trailing behind him both of them using spells for a source of light. Suddenly, Ira stopped and looked ahead. He could hear someone speaking very far away, but the voice sounded like metal being rubbed together instead of the voice of a living person. He focused his hearing and used his primal awareness which allowed him to sense a threatening presence ahead of him.

"Prot....t....Ki..." He could just barely make out the words being spoken, but the way they were broken up revealed some information to him. He could tell there were multiple pathways based on how the sound traveled, he was only one person so he couldn't check them all. Rhys drew her Rapier and stepped forward, she used it to draw something on the ground. 

[ ? ]

Ira returned shook his head as his senses went back to their normal state.

"Something wrong?" Carter asked as he attempted to peer into the darkness.

Ira sported a cheeky grin as he spoke, "There's something up ahead."

Rhys and Carter tried to listen, but they didn't hear anything.

"You sure?" Carter asked a bit skeptically.

Ira laughed at him and then sat down, pressing his back against the cave walls. Rhys shrugged before taking a seat near him. Carter reluctantly sat down across from them, it was no point of running head-on into danger. 

"...So what are we waiting for?" Carter asked.

The dim light he used wasn't sufficient enough to light the whole cavern so it benefits him to wait for his guild members.

"I don't know about you but I'm waiting for those expedition guys to get down here," Ira said.

Carter furrowed his brows and asked another question, "Are you waiting for them to bring a light source?"

Ira looked at him with a confused expression. "Light source? I can see in the dark. Up ahead are a bunch of different paths, more than the three of us can go through. So there is a need to split them up." Ira explained.

Carter went into thought before asking another question, "How do you know?"

Ira narrowed his eyes in annoyance at Carter as he spoke, "You should take a note from Rhys," he said with a chuckle.

Though the words could be taken as offensive, Rhys didn't seem to be bothered, it was likely that even if she could speak normally, she wouldn't do so if it wasn't needed. Carter only glanced at Ira and seemingly ignored the negative comment. He had to admit he was being a bit too intrusive, he made it a point to have enough information about a potentially dangerous situation.

It was a habit he acquired as a Guild Leader if he didn't properly plan he could endanger those with him. Such conditions were often stressful to those unwilling to sacrifice lives under their command. Meanwhile, Ira lacked any real preparatory habits, taking on improvisation as his method of operation. His actions illustrated his immaturity as a fighter since he rarely, if ever, planned things out. 

Eventually, the part of the expedition team arrived and they were surprised to see Ira, Rhys, and Carter sitting down. A few people grew nervous at the sight, what could cause the three strongest people in the Kingdom to halt their advance.

Ira stood up and looked at the Guide, "There are multiple pathways up ahead and...something else...Anyway, let's take a look."

His cryptic explanation only served to plant fear in the minds of others. He led them into the cavern until they stopped at 8 smaller tunnels.

"Protec...The...Kin..." Ira could hear the voice more clearly now, but he was the only one who could do so.

"Right, straight ahead there might be something but it could also be coming from the left." He said as he tapped his sword.

"...I don't hear anything?" someone in the crowd said.

Although Ira wouldn't recognize him he was listed right after Carter in the rankings. "You don't need to hear it for it to kill you." Ira shrugged as he didn't even bother to look at whoever spoke.

"Listen, I'm taking the middle. You all can do what you want." Ira began to walk down the center cavern with unhurried steps.

Lance and his party all contemplated following him, but Lance thought they would be in the way or overshadowed. There was no doubt sticking to him would be the safest, but it wouldn't earn the most. Rhys followed behind Ira for no real reason, the center seemed to be the simplest way to go. Seeing Rhys follow Ira, many people, including Carter, split off into the various other tunnels. Following the two strongest people wasn't worth the losses they might incur, just imagine if they had a disagreement with both of them, who could stop them if they were to steal from someone or kill them outright?

"Protect...The...Kin..." As they walked further and further into the center most tunnel the words became more clear.

"Can you hear it?" Ira asked.

Rhys listened before nodding, she could faintly hear something further down. All of a sudden the Caverns shook and rocks fell from the ceiling, they weren't even deadly for Ira and Rhys as they easily moved out of the way.

"A tremor?" Ira asked Rhys. She could only shrug in return, they looked around but saw very little damage. 

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" All of a sudden a scream echoed throughout the caverns. 

A few minutes earlier. 

Lance and his party followed down the path of a small group of A rated Mercenaries. It was safe and they would be more likely to find things for themselves this way. At least that's what Lance thought, he had become stranger and stranger after his interactions with Ira. Though with his friends being his friends they didn't notice it, well they pretended they didn't notice. It was clear Lance was showing envy toward Ira, it was reasonable to those feelings, It was like having a friend who had the same amount of money as you become rich the next day.

That wasn't the problem, the issue was Lance had become slightly more stubborn than normal. In their experience Ira proved to be very "friendly" toward them, he even sparred with them and helped them improve. So the question was, would he mind if they tagged along and maybe grabbed a few weapons or artifacts? The answer was no, in fact, Ira wanted something to help him get stronger instead of a new sword or a fresh set of armor, but they didn't ask because of-

"Lance. Do you think we should turn around and go meet up with Ira?" Gerald asked as he walked down a narrow passage.

The passage they chose lacked the space the center passage had, which was worrisome especially as it continued to narrow. If they should run into something, numbers would mean nothing in an enclosed space.

"No," Lance said stubbornly.

"Lance..." Sarah looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

Feeling the change in atmosphere Lance turned around and looked. Everyone avoided his gaze uncomfortably as he looked at them.

"Why don't you just take Ira as your leader since you guys want his leftovers so much?" Lance immediately regretted the words that came out of his mouth and his friends looked stunned at his harshness.

They continued walking in silence for a few moments before Lance spoke up, "I'm sorry. It's just...I don't think we'll ever grow if we rely on Ira for everything-" Before Lance could finish, the cavern shook fiercely and large rocks fell below.

People tried their best to dodge but the confined space only allowed those in the front or in the back to have ease of movement, those stuck in the middle were bombarded with loose stones. A large stone fell onto one lucky fellow who had both his legs trapped beneath it. After the shaking stopped a scream filled the air,

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" It continued to echo throughout the cavern and spread toward the furthest reaches.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The Polyphemus slowly walking through the tunnel looked forward at the scream.

"PROTECT...THE...KING..." Its voice became louder as its arms began melting. The humanoid like hands became a sword and a shield respectively.

"PROTECT...THE...KING!!!" The unified shout sounded out from behind it.

Its segmented face closed and hid the orb that functioned as its eye, it began charging forward. More metallic footsteps could be heard from the ruined city as more of the Polyphemus took up arms. The rest went to the palace site and took up defensive positions, their arms morphed into spears and huge kite shields.

While deep in the palace, something walked over to a crystal and began making strange actions. A low hum sounded out as an array lit up, the array could be traced to the roof of the caverns and deep into the tunnels. After a few more moments, lights shined on the previously dark ruins and even continued into the caverns. 

Ira and Rhys stood blankly as the dim Cavern became fully lit, well, it wasn't a problem for Ira since he could see either way. Even if he couldn't see he could just enhance his sense of hearing and sense of touch and be completely fine. As he turned to look ahead he could see an oddly shaped Golden metal man barreling toward him.

"...What the fuck?" He could see the sword and shield on the end of the Golden Man's appendages.

Seeing the Metal Man closing in with hostile and heavy footsteps, each one clearly communicating the intent to commit violence, Ira drew his sword. Rhys drew her rapier which emitted sparks of electricity.

Ira looked at her and held his hand up in a gentlemanly manner, "After you."

Rhys raised her Rapier and aimed it at the Metal Man who was now close of enough to be considered a threat. A flash of lightning shot out from her rapier and hit the Metal Man, causing him to stop. His momentum carried him across the ground until he tripped over some rocks.

"Well, that's one way to make an entrance," Ira said before laughing.

Rhys couldn't help it and began laughing underneath her mask, but it sounded more like her exhaling than anything.

"And he was so intimidating before." Ira chuckled a few more times until he noticed the Metal Man getting up.

"PROTECT...THE...KING!" His segmented face opened up and the red orb glowed. 

A heated ray of energy shot at Ira who could raise his sword to block, but the force of the blast knocked him onto his back. Rhys quickly stepped forward and stabbed her Rapier into the orb and then channeled electricity into it. Cracks appeared all along the orb until it shattered and the metal body fell lifelessly.

Rhys turned around to check on Ira only to see him dusting himself off. He disappeared from where he stood and appeared behind Rhys, he squatted down and examined the metallic thing that could no longer be called a man. "What do you think it is?" He asked as he stabbed his sword into the ground and gripped the chest plate. Rhys stood next to him after recovering from the surprise of his teleportation and wrote on the ground.

[Golem? ] 

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Ira pulled at the chest plate only to see a plain cracked orb, much like the one in its head.

He waved his left over it and deposited the body. Rhys was once again surprised to see Ira make the body suddenly disappear. She looked at him, wondering why he would take the body.

"I'm gonna sell it to the Kingdom," Ira said after seeing she was curious about it.  

What Ira didn't know was that the Polyphemus had a greater secret. After a Polyphemus died in the cavern a message was relayed to all of the other Polyphemus. They opened their segmented faces and the red orbs began projecting a scene. A female intruder used lightning to incapacitate one of their own and a boy even blocked one of their attacks, the Polyphemus shortly met its end. 

Would the Kings Guard of the Old Kingdom be so weak? Of course not. They weren't just automatons that attacked in a predictable manner, the truth is they had been in a dormant state which caused them to reset all their battle capabilities back to the basics. Their greatest feature wasn't the shifting bodies or the rays of light produced from their orbs. No, their most terrifying thing about them had to be their ability to adapt.

After watching the projection, the Polyphemus adjusted their bodies, their legs were altered to prevent them from stumbling and give them better traction. Their metal bodies underwent alterations to grant them higher electrical resistance, and the red orbs were covered in a layer of liquid metal. Improvements were made to prevent any similar deaths from occurring in their numbers. Every Polyphemus that died strengthened the rest and to the ones who stood guard outside the palace ruins, they would soon become the Perfect Solution to any intruders.

"PROTECT...THE...KING!!!" Their lifeless but harmonious chants filled the ruins of the fallen city. They were determined to carry out their sole purpose for living.

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